The Unofficial Family War
by BillAtWork
Summary: What if Sarah was five minutes later at the end of First Date and Casey completed his assignment and shot Chuck? Sarah and Ellie teaming up to avenge Chuck's murder sounds pretty grim. This is anything but grim. It's a story of redemption, of courage, of dedication, of family, and, of course, the power of love.
1. The Funeral

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Okay, I know. My retirement didn't last all that long. I still plan on retiring, but I've always said that if I got a good idea for a story, I would write it. This idea is courtesy of my friend, CharahKids. What would happen if Casey followed his orders and actually shot Chuck? We've been working on scene snippets for about a month now._

 _Sarah and Ellie teaming up to avenge Chuck's murder sounds pretty grim. And, yes, it will start off that way. But I don't write those kinds of stories. I write love stories. All of the normal BillAtWork promises apply. I think I'll leave it there._

 _This is going to get dark. Not in a sex or adult situations way. The story will be pretty tame in that regard. But Beckman and Graham ordered a law abiding American citizen to be murdered… simply because he was an inconvenience for them. Casey seemed willing to execute the order. I don't see how the writers could possibly expect us to like or trust them after that._

 _So expect a serious family war. Ellie, and especially Sarah, are pissed. They aren't going to take any prisoners. Neither is the CIA. There will be multiple character deaths._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **The Funeral**

x-x-x-x-x

Bryce was in the main room at Castle when the call came. There was one good thing about the Intersect Project. It got Graham and Beckman in the same room and eye-to-eye on some things. Of course neither of them would think that was a good thing and even if they did, they would never admit it out loud. Neither made any attempt to hide the fact that they didn't care for each other. And the institutional rivalry between the CIA and the NSA, which was always present at some level, was currently at an all time high.

"Where is Agent Walker?" Beckman asked.

Bryce looked around. Sarah had been making herself scarce whenever they were alone together in Castle. She had been for the past week, ever since they had been assigned to work as a team again. "She's in one of the rooms going over some surveillance," he responded, trying hard to keep the sadness from his voice.

"Are you sure she can't hear us?" Beckman asked pointedly. "I believe you're well aware of how sensitive this topic is."

Bryce could see her on one of the monitors. She was looking intently at a computer screen. "Yes, ma'am," he said. "If there's any good thing that came out of all of this, it's that she has been pouring herself into her work."

"How did it go last night?" Beckman asked. "Were you successful?"

They had been 'assigned' to attend a dinner party as a couple to tail a suspected Fulcrum money man. The assignment included spending the night together in the hotel. It was all fake, a setup. The man they were tailing was just a prominent businessman. Agent Walker was every bit as beautiful as she ever was. The dress she was wearing was stunning. And she was professional. But Bryce could tell that something was… off. "No ma'am," he sighed sadly. "I put on the full court press. I'm afraid that she wasn't in the mood for any romance last night." Bryce was being a little coy. In fact, he was spinning the details. She had slept on the couch. She also told him in no uncertain terms, that if he touched her ass one more time, he was going to wake up missing that hand.

"You told me this would work," Beckman said sternly. "You assured us that you knew exactly what you were doing, that after a night of dancing, you could have her in bed with it being her idea. You were fairly graphic in describing her favorite… activities."

"It will work," Bryce insisted pointedly. "You don't know her like I do. This has worked many times in the past. He's only been dead for two weeks. Yes, she's a hothead. But that's what makes her so intense… in the field, but also in bed."

"I'm not so sure," Beckman said. "She was obviously in love with him. Now she's messed up. How do we get her over him?"

"Ma'am," Bryce scoffed. "She wasn't in love with him. Agent Walker? In love with a guy who works in a Buy More? Please. You know her. She's a perfectionist. She was protective of him. She feels like she failed in her assignment by letting him be killed. That's all this is. She needs a mission to feel needed."

"We need her back in the game," Beckman said. "We've already lost Major Casey. He hasn't left his room since the incident. We plainly underestimated Bartowski's attraction to them both. We can't have an out of control agent running around. Be prepared to terminate him."

"Yes, ma'am," Bryce said sadly. He didn't like Casey. In fact, he didn't like him a lot. Casey made no attempt to hide the fact that the feeling was mutual. As agents, they were oil and vinegar. But terminating a fellow agent was a tough assignment.

"We'll hold off on Agent Walker," Beckman said. "For now. Bartowski's memorial service is today. Maybe after she gets some closure, she'll be more receptive to your… charm. I expect you to keep trying."

"Yes, ma'am," Bryce said confidently.

"I'll have her back in the saddle in no time."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah was where she had been spending most of her time for the past week… looking at the taped surveillance scene of Ellie's apartment… for what seemed like the millionth time. The story they were telling just didn't make any sense. A Fulcrum hit? How did Fulcrum even know about Chuck? There was no intelligence that suggested that. And if they did, wouldn't they try to capture him first? He would have been very valuable to them.

The story they told Ellie was even more unbelievable. They couldn't tell her about Fulcrum. So they made something else up. But a robbery gone wrong? What did Chuck have worth stealing? She hadn't talked to Ellie since that horrible day at the hospital. And neither had been in any mood to make conversation.

Sarah went to the hospital once last week to look for her and see how she was doing. But she wasn't there. They said she took a leave of absence and nobody knew where she was. It's probably why the memorial service was two weeks after his death. The only family he had was in no shape to organize one. Sarah was certainly sympathetic. Frankly, that's what she wished she could do… find a hole someplace, crawl in, assume the fetal position… and let the rest of the world go to hell.

There was really only one thing left for Sarah to do… track down Chuck's killer, capture him, and use every bit of her training to make his last few hours of life as hellish as she possibly could. It was the only thing that kept her sane. That meant watching this horrible scene over and over looking for clues. At least that accomplished one thing. She was away from Bryce.

Was he the most clueless person on the planet or what? How could she possibly get through to him that, whatever you could call their previous relationship, it was over. She had zero interest in resuming a sexual relationship with him. The very thought turned her stomach. Yet he kept coming on to her like it was happy hour at Chili's. It was time to ask Graham for another assignment. That would be a tough sell. They once had been his best team. He wouldn't want to lose that. She'd have to talk him into it. She knew that she could talk him into a lot. But she was about ready to handle this situation by herself… in the classic Agent Walker manner… and throw a knife into Bryce's fucking throat.

She eventually came upon the part of the scene that she dreaded most but, no matter how hard she tried, simply couldn't tear her eyes away from. She watched herself enter the apartment and find him slumped on the floor. Sarah didn't need the tape for this part. She could still feel the panic as she frantically felt for a pulse, hoping against hope that there was a chance if she could just get him to the hospital in time. But she knew. There was way too much blood. The rest of that day was a blur. All she could remember was Ellie coming out and confirming that Chuck was dead. It was Beckman who told her the autopsy confirmed the cause of death… brain damage from excessive blood loss caused by a gunshot wound to the chest.

Sarah had to pause for a long moment to wipe the tears from her eyes. Crying wasn't her thing, never had been. She had already cried more about this than she had the rest of her life put together. Sarah had thought several times that there couldn't possibly be any more tears left inside of her. Yet they always managed to come leaking out. Dad had always told her that crying was for weak people… for suckers. It didn't accomplish anything. The only man she had ever loved had died without knowing… all because she was a coward. Crying wouldn't change that. Nothing would. She couldn't tell him how sorry she was. So that left avenging his death. That wouldn't bring him back. But it was all that she had. So she got back to work. There were a million fucking cameras in that apartment. How was it possible that not one of them had a glimpse of the shooter?

One of the things that Sarah could not figure out was how the shooter got into the apartment in the first place without being on a camera. The door and all of the windows were covered. The Morgan door was the obvious weakness. But she had watched the footage of his room so many times that she had ruled out missing anything.

Currently she was looking at Ellie and Devon's room. There was a window in there. He could have possibly come in that way. But there was absolutely no sign of anyone. She had watched the scene frame by frame about twenty times before she noticed it. The room was dark. So you could easily see the light coming through under the bedroom door. _Wait. What was that?_ She rewound the scene for a second. _There it was again._ There was a definite shadow that crossed outside of the door. That must have been the killer. What else could it possibly be? Except that looking at the main room, there was nothing there. She even synchronized the two feeds in a split screen so that she could see both rooms at the same time. _There it was again._ There was no doubt. That was definitely a shadow. How could there possibly be a shadow with nothing to cause it? It wasn't possible.

It took several minutes before the truth hit her like a bolt of lightening. It now made perfect sense. What she was watching simply wasn't possible. This surveillance had been altered. There was only one organization in the world with the access and the skill to do that.

And that meant…

Suddenly Sarah was kicking herself for not having figured this out sooner. They had terminated him. "Sonofabitch," now Ex-Agent Walker muttered to herself. She threw the remote on the table in disgust and left Castle.

For the final time.

x-x-x-x-x

It took Casey a long time to answer the door. She hadn't seen him since the day Chuck had been killed. If she had been thinking clearly she would have wondered why he was still here. He should have been on a new assignment by now.

"Walker," he said as he finally opened the door. "What are you doing here? It really isn't a good time."

Again, if Sarah had been thinking clearly, she would have realized that Casey wasn't looking so good. He hadn't shaved… well, in a long time. He also didn't smell so good. The smell said that he probably hadn't showered in just as long.

But she wasn't thinking clearly. Maybe she was no longer a CIA Agent. But she hadn't turned in her lightning fast left foot. It connected flush on his jaw. Casey was a classic tough guy. But nobody stayed standing after taking that blow.

"Why'd you do it, Casey?" Sarah screamed as she launched another kick, this one directly into his ribs.

Okay, after taking that kick to his ribs, he was currently using all of his energy trying to breathe. So Sarah didn't expect him to answer. They both knew that he couldn't fight her for long. Ex-Agent Walker was far too quick and talented for him. But it took a long moment for Sarah to realize though her rage that he wasn't even trying to defend himself. So she launched one last kick, took out her gun, racked a round, and waited for him to recover.

"Why'd you do it?" she finally asked again.

Casey took a long moment to answer. His voice was strained. He was clearly still in pain. "Why do we do anything, Walker?" he finally answered. It wasn't a denial.

Sarah instantly knew what he meant. Agents followed orders… period. Sarah knew that better than anyone. You didn't question orders. You just obeyed them. And just at the wrong time, here came those damned tears again… right on cue. "Who ordered you to kill Chuck?" she sobbed.

"Who do you think?" Casey answered sarcastically.

"Beckman?" Sarah asked. "Graham?"

"They were both there," Casey said. "I tried to talk them out of it."

Sarah put her gun away. "I have a job for you," she said, still sobbing. "I want you to tell them both that they are currently dead people walking. I don't know how yet, but I'm going to kill both of them."

"Tell them that they can count on it."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah knew that going to Chuck's funeral probably wasn't the smartest idea. She had just threatened the Director of the CIA. Knowing Graham, he had likely already issued her termination order. And if he hadn't yet, he soon would. Right after the funeral, she'd have to go on the run.

She found that she just couldn't stay away. She owed the only man she had ever loved a proper goodbye. She wore the dress that she had bought for their third date… their third real date… the one that Chuck hopefully would ask her for soon. And yes, when she bought it, she fully understood the significance of a third real date. Chuck wasn't aggressive. It was pretty obvious that she was going to have to make the first move. That was fine, she made sure that she picked out a dress that was easy to take off. Fortunately, Chuck had conservative tastes. He liked it when she dressed pretty more than sexy. Of course he never said anything. But Sarah could always tell by the look in his eyes which outfits he really liked. So the dark blue third date dress was also appropriate for a funeral.

It was a nice ceremony… understated and brief… but nice. Sarah would have loved to see him one last time. But two weeks was far too long to have an open casket. He had been cremated right after the autopsy.

It would have been an even nicer ceremony if those stupid tears would have stayed away. But they didn't. As much as Sarah hated to cry, she hated it even more when it happened in public. So the dark sunglasses were mandatory. She knew that she wasn't fooling anyone. But still, they hid the tears.

The kicker was that, as she left the church, Bryce was waiting for her by her car. If there was a termination order out on her, Agent Larkin was in perfect position to execute it.

Bryce looked at her dress. It was exactly the type of dress he hated. He hated anything that didn't show a maximum amount of cleavage. When they had been a couple, he would have openly made fun of it. He would have asked her if she had gotten a job in a library.

"You're not ever coming back to me," he said sadly. "Are you?"

Luckily Sarah's dark glasses hid her rolling her eyes. The moron really wanted to talk about their relationship… now? "No," she said. "I'm not."

"Sarah, I'm worried about you," Bryce said. "He's dead. How long are you going to be in love with a dead man?"

At least that sounded genuine, as genuine as Bryce ever got anyway. Hopefully, he finally got it. And since she was probably never going to see him again, at least not as friends, maybe some closure was in order. So she willed the calm into her voice. "Forever, I'm afraid," she said with as much of a smile as she could muster. "Bryce, I don't regret what we had. You were there for me at a time in my life when I was figuring some things out about myself. I appreciate that. We had some good times. We did a lot of good things. But that part of my life is over now. It's time to move on. Don't worry. You're going to get a great partner."

"Sarah," Bryce said. "You know that they're not going to let you just walk away. It's not how things work."

"I know that," Sarah said. "I'm going to have to face them. They'll probably send someone after me that I'll have to deal with. They'll keep trying and I'll keep fighting. "Bryce, I honestly hope it's never you. If it is, take your best shot."

"So will I."

x-x-x-x-x

Ellie made sure to keep the disappointed look from her face when she answered the door. But she didn't need this. Not now. "Hello, Sarah," she said.

"I'm sorry to bother you," Sarah said. "I know this isn't a good time."

Ellie looked at her closely. There was something different about her. Oh, she sure as hell didn't trust this CIA Agent, who had been playing her for the past year. But she looked genuinely devastated. That made some sense. After all, she and Chuck had been together practically every waking moment for the past year. Even for a hardcore agent, it was only natural that she would need to grieve a little. "Come in," she said and moved out of the way.

"It was a nice ceremony," Sarah said sadly. "He would have felt honored."

It was a lame attempt at small talk, and they both knew it. But Ellie refused to make this easy. If Agent Walker had something to say to her, she'd have to summon the courage to say it. So she played it straight. "Thank you," Ellie said. "I think he would have been too."

Sarah had just been called on her lame attempt at conversation, and she knew it. "Look," she said quietly. "I have something to say to you."

That was when Ellie noticed the tears in her eyes. But she still wasn't going to make this easy. "Okay," was all she said… and waited.

Now Sarah was sobbing. They were soft sobs that she was clearly trying to hide. But still. "I found out who killed him," she whimpered between sobs. "I can't tell you everything. You wouldn't believe me. But the rotten bastards took your brother away from you. Ellie, I wanted to come and tell you. I'm going to fucking kill all of them. It doesn't bring him back. I get that. But his death is not going to be unavenged. I promise you that."

Ellie already generally knew who was responsible for Chuck's murder. Now wasn't the time to get into why. That time would probably never come. But Sarah finally being willing to admit the situation had her attention. "Do you know who it was, specifically?" Ellie asked, suddenly interested.

"It was ordered by General Diane Beckman and Langston Graham," Sarah said. "Beckman is the Director of the NSA. Graham is my boss, Director of the CIA."

Ellie let slide that Sarah had just admitted what she already knew, that Sarah worked for the CIA. "Those are pretty important officials," Ellie said. "How are you going to kill them? It sounds like a suicide mission."

"It is a suicide mission," Sarah admitted. "Ellie, I'm afraid this is goodbye for us. How? I'm not sure yet. But I promise you that I will. You can count on it. It's my specialty. I owe it to him."

Suddenly Ellie understood. One look into Sarah's eyes and it suddenly all made sense. "Sarah," she said softly. "Chuck wouldn't want you to die avenging him."

Now Sarah's tears were back with a vengeance and she was openly sobbing. "I know," she said. "He wouldn't. He's too nice a guy. But he died before I could tell him how much I loved him. Ellie, I was a fucking coward. He's the only man I've ever loved. I didn't even believe in love before I met Chuck. Now he's gone. He loved me for a whole year never knowing how much I loved him back. Ellie, I tried. I was always going to tell him. But I was always too scared. I was always able to convince myself that I could tell him tomorrow. Now it's too late. There aren't any more tomorrows. I can't live with that. I'd give anything to have a second chance to tell him."

Ellie looked at Sarah standing there sobbing. Ten minutes ago, she didn't trust her, probably didn't even like her. This was the agent who had been lying to her for the past year. But it was impossible to deny that this person shaking with emotion in her living room was genuinely heartbroken. So she wrapped her arms around her. "If you're going to do this," she said. "I have something that I want to show you before we say goodbye for the last time. I think that you owe me that much. You're going on a suicide mission. A couple of hours aren't going to make much difference."

The next hour was a blur. Sarah just numbly allowed Ellie to guide her to the car. It really didn't register when she drove to the mall, basically dragged her inside, and then directly out the other exit and into another car. Even through her fog, she finally realized that Ellie had just executed a perfect method to lose a tail.

They drove silently for about an hour until they were deep into the mountains. Ellie finally pulled the car next to what looked to be a hunter's log cabin. Not knowing what else to do, Sarah just got out of the car and followed her.

"You said that you'd give anything to have a second chance," Ellie said as she opened the door. "Let's see how much you meant that."

"Chuck, Sarah has something she'd like to tell you."

x-x-x-x-x


	2. The Unofficial Wedding

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Wow. I'm bowled over by the amazing support. I loved it. As you can imagine, this situation is very complex. We're gong to start getting some answers over the next few chapters._

 _Warning: This is still going to get dark. Not in a sex or adult situations way. The story will be pretty tame in that regard. But Beckman and Graham ordered a law abiding American citizen to be murdered… simply because he was an inconvenience for them. Casey seemed willing to execute the order. I don't see how the writers could possibly expect us to like or trust them after that._

 _So expect a serious war. Ellie, and especially Sarah, are pissed. They aren't going to take any prisoners. Neither is the CIA. There will be multiple character deaths._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **The Unofficial Wedding**

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah couldn't believe her eyes. He was in a hospital bed. It looked like he was connected to perhaps every piece of equipment that modern medicine could provide. He looked unbelievably pale. But his smile… it was perfect. This was too good to be true. Maybe she was dreaming. "Chuck," she whispered, trying hard to blink the tears from her eyes and not totally succeeding. "How can this be? I watched you die."

"Ask my doctor," Chuck responded as he indicated Ellie with a cautious flip of his head. His voice wasn't very strong. But his smile was… everything. "She'll give you a morass of technical medical mumbo jumbo. Hopefully you'll understand it better than I did. The best way I can understand it is that apparently the Intersect has some self-defense mechanisms built into it that the CIA didn't account for."

When Sarah turned to Ellie, she was shocked to see the gun pointed directly at her. Sarah slowly raised her hands, more out of instinct than anything.

"My family is at war," Ellie said. "We didn't go looking for this war. It's not a war we would wish for. But we also have no choice. We're not about to back down. Sarah, I know all about you being a CIA Agent. I know all about the little charade that's been going on for the past year. I think that I understand who you are inside. I really hope that I'm right. After our talk, I wanted to give you the opportunity that you asked for. But I'm also not prepared to take any chances. So I'm afraid that you won't be leaving until I'm convinced of your loyalty."

Ellie had miscalculated. She had never seen Agent Walker in action, didn't understand how quick and talented she was. Chuck would have warned her, had he realized she was going to try anything like this. This confrontation was a mismatch. Quickly Sarah had snatched the gun out of Ellie's hand and was now holding it. That instantly put her in complete control of this situation… and everyone knew it.

"You should never point your weapon at a dangerous adversary with the safety on," Sarah said. "Ellie, that's the kind of mistake you just can't make and survive. We're at war. We have no choice but to fight and win. You want to know about my loyalty? Chuck Bartowski has 100% of my loyalty. I'm so happy to see him alive that I don't know if I'm going to laugh or cry. Nobody is ever going to take him away from me again. I'll fight the whole world, including you, if I have too."

Sarah spent a moment examining the gun closely. "This is a huge weapon for an amateur," she said. "Bigger is not always better. It's not going to be easy to control. Have you ever shot it?"

Ellie didn't know what to say. It was the moment of truth. If she was wrong about Sarah, if the CIA Agent was here to finish the job… she had just made a fatal mistake and this was over. All she could do was shake her head.

To Ellie's relief, Sarah casually handed the gun back to her. "If you ever have to shoot it, be sure to use both hands to steady it," she explained. "Be prepared for a huge recoil. As soon as we can, we'll find you a weapon more your size. Maybe we can go someplace soon and do some shooting. We'll have to work on a few fighting and self-defense moves. If this situation is what I think it is, you're going to have to be able to handle yourself."

Ellie could only stare at the gun in her hands.

Sarah had to laugh at her confused look. "Hopefully that answered your question about my loyalty," she said. "I failed to protect him once. I prayed for this second chance. Thank you for giving it to me. Rest assured that I'm not going to fail him again… ever. So what is our situation? Is Chuck going to be okay? Is there something that I don't know about that puts us in imminent danger? Where are we? How did you fake Chuck's autopsy and cremation? Who else knows about this?"

"You're asking a lot of questions," Ellie said, clearly relieved. "Yes, you just earned my trust. Before we have that conversation, aren't you going to tell him what you were going to tell him first?"

"I am," Sarah said with a growing grin. "Hopefully he's already overheard enough to draw the proper conclusion. But the CIA isn't going to go away. You were just lucky with me. Underestimating them would be fatal. If they find out that they missed, they're going to try again. I've already attended his funeral one too many times. I'd kinda like the chance to be in love with him while he's alive for a while."

Finally, Ellie returned her grin. "I'll make you a deal," she said. "Take ten minutes and tell him what you need to tell him. As his doctor, I think that will be therapeutic for him. I'm not your doctor, but I think it would be even more therapeutic for you. Then I'll answer all your questions as best I can. Deal?"

Sarah didn't answer. Not really. She just walked over to Chuck's bed and, as gently as she could grabbed his hand. "Chuck, I'm screwed up, a shell of a person, an emotional basket case," she started softly. "I don't think I'm telling you anything you haven't already figured out. The truth is that you deserve a lot better. But from this point forward you're getting all I have to give. I was going to tell you this so many times. I just couldn't get the words out of my mouth. I'm a coward. I get that now. It took losing you to figure that out. Hopefully you already heard me tell Ellie, but you deserve to hear it from my lips. Chuck, I'm in love with you. I have been for a long, long time. You're the only man I've ever loved. I hid behind my duty and, Chuck, I'm ashamed of that. So now I find that my duty and my love life are finally aligned. I know that it might sound odd given the circumstance, but I've never been happier than I am standing here right now. If you'll let me, I'll spend the rest of my life proving that to you. I know that this seems sudden. Maybe I'm making an incorrect assumption. If you need some time, I'll try to be patient."

Chuck's grin threatened to break his face in two. "There's nothing wrong with your assumption," he said. "I'm in love with you too. I've never been happier either. Sudden? We've already wasted so much time. Let's hope that 'the rest of our lives' is a long time. Currently that seems to be in some doubt."

"Awww," Ellie said. "That was nice. It sounded like an engagement. I'm going into the bedroom for a few minutes to give you guys some privacy. You have some celebrating to do."

How could Sarah argue? Maybe what had just happened wasn't the typical engagement. But that wouldn't be them, would it? Being someone's wife wasn't something she ever seriously thought about. But what else could you call this? She had just made her decision. She was going to spend the rest of her life by his side. The detail of if they ever actually got married or not was moot. To Sarah, they were as married right now as they would ever be. She looked at Chuck, and all the wires that were connected to him. "How physical can this celebration get?" she asked. "He looks pretty pale. I don't want to get carried away and hurt him."

Ellie laughed. "Chuck is out of the woods medically," she said. "He's still pretty weak. He's only five days away from being in a week long coma after nearly dying. So I'm afraid that any actual sex will have to wait for a few days. But I wouldn't see the harm in some steamy second base type necking as long as you're careful. His body will tell him when he's going too far. Maybe you could do most of the work. I'll leave the decision up to you."

Just like that, Ellie was gone. Chuck grinned up at Sarah. "You know," he said. "She is only partially right. My body is definitely telling me something. But just in case this factors at all into your decision making, I don't feel all that weak."

That got them both laughing. "Nice try," Sarah was finally able to get out. "But there are more than just medical rules to be followed. We just agreed that we're going to spend the rest of our lives together. That probably makes us engaged. But we've only been on one real date. Nice girls don't put out on the first date, no matter how much they want it, especially when the guy is in a hospital bed. Yes, perhaps it's a technicality, but it's an important one."

"Okay," Chuck teased. "I get that. You have a standard to uphold. I would never want people to say that you're easy. But wouldn't you call this right now something of a date? We did just confess our eternal love to each other. That has to count for something."

"It's a good point," Sarah conceded, trying to control her laughter. "Why do I get the impression, that if I continue to have this debate with you, I'm soon going to find myself naked?"

"What?" Chuck asked in mock horror. "I'm just pointing out that you have some wiggle room in defending your reputation. That's all. I'm not even pointing out that the night on the beach a year ago was something of a real date. At least it was to me. I'm also not going to get into the fact that you're currently wearing the dress you wore to my funeral. When you think about it in those terms… well, that seems a little creepy. There has to be an acceptable exemption in there someplace. So if you did find yourself naked…"

"Okay," Sarah said as soon as she could stop laughing. "Enough. I don't want this to feel creepy for you. I'll take off the dress."

Chuck obviously thought she was teasing. Because his mouth literally fell open when she unzipped the dress she had bought for this exact circumstance, well sort of anyway, and stepped out of it as it pooled at her feet. "Sarah," he said softly. "I was just teasing."

Sarah placed a finger to his lips to stop his cute babbling. "You're something of a poor winner," she complained as she reached behind her back to unsnap her bra. "Life's too short. I've already wasted a year. I thought that I had lost you. From this point forward, there is nothing… nothing that I will ever deny you. So let this be a lesson. Don't ask for things from me that you don't really want. Besides, you heard the doctor. Second base necking. I do most of the work." She leaned down and pressed her lips to his. Their first real kiss as a lifelong couple was… well, pure magic.

"That was nice," Chuck said when the long kiss broke. "When did I ever say that I didn't want it? I've been hoping for this for a long time. For the record, it was worth the wait, and nearly dying."

Sarah stopped trying to hide the grin. He was so cute trying to find a place to look instead of gawking at her naked chest. He finally settled for looking directly into her eyes. Nice? Talk about understatement. It left 'nice' standing in the dust. It was nothing short of life changing. Sarah even forgot where she was for a long moment. That was most definitely a first for Agent Walker. She just allowed herself to melt into him. It was head and shoulders the highlight of her life.

"It was very nice," she agreed. "Chuck, please don't ever let me think you're dead again. That was a horrible two weeks, the worst of my life." She took his hand in hers and guided it to her breast before pressing her lips into his again, this time much more urgently. "Doctor's orders were second base necking," she reminded as they continued to make out. "You do understand the definition of 'second base' in this context, right? Not to be indelicate, but I'm standing her mostly naked because I'm trying hard to prove something to you. This view is now one of your fundamental rights. You're going to give me an inferiority complex."

"Um, yeah," Chuck stammered. "Not to complain, the view is… amazing. But to be perfectly honest, the knives that are strapped around your thigh are a little intimidating. I've seen you use them."

Sarah couldn't keep the wet laugh in. "Maybe you're right," she said as she unbuckled the holster of knives and let them drop to the floor with a thud. "Let's get everything on the table. I suppose the stockings could be used to strangle someone. I'd better take them off as well. Tell me. Are the panties intimidating you in any way? They're plain cotton, really not suitable to be used as an offensive weapon. I'm just saying."

Chuck grinned. "Not right now," he said. "Can I reserve the option to change my mind if the second base thing goes well?"

"You always have the option," Sarah said as she matched his grin and sat on the bed, taking a moment to make good on her promise and roll the stockings down her legs… tossing one then the other playfully into the air. "I'll stop wearing panties altogether if you want." She took his hand and again guided it to her chest. "I get that you're pretty bashful about these things. I'm probably not bashful enough. Maybe there is some middle ground we can find together. We'll work on that. In the meantime, if you're not going to look at them, maybe you could feel your way for a while. I was honestly hoping to not have to do all of the work here. Don't make me rat you out to your sister."

"I'm thinking that might not go so well for you."

x-x-x-x-x

When Ellie walked out of the bedroom, Sarah was in the bed next to Chuck. She was probably being a little extra careful, snuggled carefully but comfortably into him. A sheet mostly covered them, but Ellie didn't have to guess what they were wearing. Sarah's dress was still in a pool on the floor. There was a holster with several knives inside next to it. Her light blue stockings had been flung to opposite sides of the room with her matching panties sitting next to the bed. Chuck's pajama pants had landed pretty close to Sarah's bra. His boxers had been flung to the other side of the room. Even covered with the sheet, it was pretty evident that it wasn't only Chuck who currently had a… um, handful.

A month ago Ellie would have been mortified stumbling onto such a vivid scene involving her brother. Chuck would have normally been even more mortified. Today, neither batted an eye. Given the circumstance they found themselves in, they were going to have to seize upon whatever glimpses of normalcy they could find.

But there was an even better reason. They looked so… happy. It confirmed what Ellie had long ago suspected. She had been specifically warned to watch out for Sarah, not to trust her. But in her heart she knew. The bad-ass super spy who was pretending to be in love with her brother… wasn't really pretending. She hadn't been for a long time. Ellie couldn't pretend to know exactly what was going through her mind. Sarah was a hard person to read. She always had a guarded expression on her face. It was almost like she was wearing a mask. That was long gone now. She looked like a lovesick teenager. One thing Ellie was sure of… Sarah was never letting go of him again… figuratively anyway. She couldn't wait to get back to the hospital and rub this new development into Devon's face.

Honestly, Dr. Bartowski would have probably insisted that Chuck stay in bed for at least one more day. She always wanted to err on the cautious side whenever it came to Chuck's medical condition. She had since he was a kid. But with Sarah naked beside him, staying in bed probably wasn't going to be all that restful anyway. So she gave in. She walked over to the bed and removed the IV from his arm. Then she removed the blood pressure cuff and the multitude of monitors stuck to his chest. "I'm tired of being careful," she said. "I'll be back in a couple of hours."

Chuck was finally able to tear his attention away from Sarah long enough to actually look at his sister. He quickly noticed the way she was dressed. "You're going to see him again," he said sadly. "Aren't you?"

The concern in his voice caused Sarah to tear her head away from its comfortable spot enough to look at Ellie. It wasn't her normal look… at all. The short black party dress simply screamed 'jump me.' Sarah had never seen Ellie wear that lipstick, the shade the spies jokingly called 'whore red.' It was visibly obvious that her outfit didn't include a bra. Sarah had seen the look enough times to realize that this was a mission of some sort. "Where are you going?" she asked. "Do you need me to come with you?"

Ellie smiled. "Don't worry," she said. "I'm not going to be in any danger. Your new fiancé here can explain the situation."

"Ellie, are you sure?" Sarah insisted. "I don't know much about our situation. But I know enough to realize we're not safe. I don't want you to be in danger. Wherever you're going, let me come with you for backup."

Ellie's grin belied the tension in the room. "I'll be as safe as I can be," she insisted. "A little nauseous maybe, but safe. Don't worry about that. Besides, you have your own responsibilities to take care of." She indicated the tent in the sheet with a flip of her head. "You're not going to leave him like that, are you?" she asked playfully. "As his doctor, I just have to tell you, that much tension isn't healthy. He recently lost a lot of blood. He doesn't need all of what he has left in that one spot… if you get my meaning."

Sarah didn't bat an eye. "Yes, Doctor," she said as she matched Ellie's grin. "Your treatment instructions are very clear. I'll make absolutely sure that his blood gets evenly distributed."

Ellie started to laugh. "It looks like it's probably going to take multiple treatments," she said. "It's still probably best if you do most of the actual work for a while until he is stronger."

"Yes, Doctor," Sarah said. "I understand perfectly. You can count on me. Are you going to stay and make sure I'm performing the treatment correctly?"

"Eww," Ellie said as she turned for the door. "Most definitely not. Some treatments should be performed in private… HIPPA regulations and all."

As soon as Ellie was gone, Sarah snuggled back into Chuck's chest. "Tell me something," she said. "Save the details for now. Yes or no? Is she going to be safe?"

"She's going to be safe," Chuck said sadly.

"Then can I ask for a big favor?" Sarah asked. She really didn't wait for Chuck to answer. "I get that this situation is probably a lot more complicated than I realize. I need to know everything if I'm going to help. So this is probably going to sound selfish. But this is the only first time we're ever going to have. Can we take an hour, just for us, before we have to deal with reality? Maybe forget that the rest of the world exists? For just one hour?"

Chuck's smile might have been a little sad. But it was genuine. "You're not being selfish at all," he said. "You're getting cheated. I wish we could take much more than an hour."

Sarah gently pressed her lips to his. "Let's make a deal," she said. "As soon as all of this is over, we'll take a month and go lay on a beach somewhere."

Chuck's sad smile turned into a grin which was anything but sad. In fact, it lit up the room. "That sounds like a honeymoon," he said. "Does this deal include a wedding?"

Sarah didn't answer for a long moment. "If you want," she finally said softly. "I get that's important to you. I don't want to cheat you out of a wedding. With our current circumstance, it may not be possible for a while. Chuck, I have to tell you, it's just not that important to me. I've already wasted too much time. I'm going to be by your side for the rest of our lives. That's as true right now as it ever will be. If that means we have a ceremony someday and I officially become a wife, I'll do that. I just want you to understand, I don't see officially being a wife changing anything. So if it happens tomorrow, or ten years from now, or never, it really doesn't matter. When things look bad, when the entire world seems to be crashing down around you, look to your right, you're going to see me standing there."

Chuck reached over to gently kiss her. "I get that," he said. "You don't have to worry. I feel the same exact way. So if we're already committed, maybe we can get this unofficially out of the way right now. How about this? I, Charles, take you Sarah, to be my wife, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part."

Sarah just nodded. Was that incredibly sappy? Of course. Was it adorable? Absolutely. Was it the most romantic point of her life? By a huge margin. "Agreed," she said. "Let's make this unofficial. I, Sarah, take you Charles, to be my husband, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part."

Chuck was grinning. Apparently, like Sarah, he didn't mind the sappiness so much. "That was nice," he said. "So by the power vested in me by, well absolutely nobody, I now pronounce us unofficially husband and wife." 'Unofficial' was now an inside joke between them. Yes, maybe this wasn't official. But it was every bit as real. Someday they would have kids to raise… and grandkids to bounce on their knee… and even great-grandkids to spoil with endless treats… but most of all they had each other to hold. They were one now… and they would be forever.

"You forgot a part," Sarah complained. Responding to his confused look, she leaned in.

"You may unofficially kiss the bride."

x-x-x-x-x


	3. The Unofficial Family

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: This is still going to get dark. Not in a sex or adult situations way. The story will be pretty tame in that regard. But Beckman and Graham ordered a law abiding American citizen to be murdered… simply because he was an inconvenience for them. Casey seemed willing to execute the order. I don't see how the writers could possibly expect us to like or trust them after that._

 _So expect a serious war. The new unofficial family isn't going to take any prisoners. Neither are their enemies. There will be multiple character deaths. But first, the team has to assemble._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **The Unofficial Family**

x-x-x-x-x

"That was some hour," Chuck said as soon as he could catch his breath. "Thank you. This do-it-yourself getting married thing was genius."

Sarah turned her face up from its comfortable spot snuggling into him to smile contentedly. "Why are you thanking me, exactly?" she asked. "In case you hadn't noticed, the moaning meant I probably was having a better time than you were. I most definitely have been looking forward to it more than you were."

"Hopefully that wasn't a one time thing," Chuck said.

Sarah did a double take. "We're married," she started. "Neither of us has been married before, but I'm pretty sure it means several things. Except for the obvious exclusions like headaches, you're now morally obligated to give me sex on demand whenever I want. You probably should have thought that through a little before you said your vows. Just so you know, I'm going to want it... a lot. It's been a long year for me… and frankly, you really get my motor running. You always have. Now that I'm allowed, I'm going to take full advantage. I said 'sex.' but I really didn't mean it like that. We've both had sex before. You and I don't have sex, we make love. That is a new and wonderful, life changing, experience for me. It may look the same from the outside, but it couldn't possibly be more different. And of course, the inverse is also true. I'm now morally obligated to give you sex whenever, and basically however, you want. Your new unofficial wife is eager to report for duty. So hopefully you'll let me know whenever you're in the mood."

That got Chuck laughing. "Do you think someone from the outside is watching?" he asked playfully. "Sarah, I understand the sexual responsibilities inherent with being married. I'm also eager to report for duty. Here's the thing. You're so beautiful. I'm honestly a little intimidated… about more than just the knives. I really don't know how to act. So I'll probably let you drive for a while."

Sarah joined his laughing. "This discussion is so moot," she said. "I'm going to be keeping you busy pretty much at every possible opportunity anyway. As soon as you're stronger, get ready for me to shift into a new gear. But there is no reason to be intimidated. Chuck, please tell me when you want something. You won't believe how fast you'll get it. That would be exciting for me."

"The girl on top thing was interesting," Chuck said. "Is that going to be our thing? Not to appear ungrateful, but I hope you don't mind if I try and be the guy in the marriage every once in a while."

That didn't get the laugh Chuck was expecting. In fact, it didn't get any response for a long moment. "This is going to be different," Sarah finally answered. "I have a take charge personality. I think we both understand that. I've given you orders, and you obeyed them. Well, you should have obeyed them anyway. It's the only way to survive in my world. Things are different now. We've spent every waking minute for the past year together. In the important ways, we know each other perfectly. But the truth is, we don't know very much about each other's pasts. I was holding myself back from you. It took watching you die to make me realize how stupid that was. I'm never holding anything back, ever again. One of the things that I love about you is that you've been willing to follow my lead without getting all macho. I hope that continues whenever we're in danger. Having said all of that, I hope you don't think that I'll try to control you in our marriage. I won't. I've given you my last order. I'm no longer your handler. I'm your wife. Even if it doesn't always look like it, that's what I want to be. So be the guy as much as you want, whatever you think that means. And, Chuck, it's far more than just sex. It's going to take me some time to grow into being a good wife. I'm flying blind here. So I'd appreciate as much patience as you can give."

"I'd love to hear some real things about you," Chuck said. "I always have. I think that you know that."

"I know," Sarah said. "I hid myself from you. I'm not proud of that. Chuck, we were in a bad situation. I needed to control you. But even more, I needed to protect myself from falling in love with you even more than I already was. That's over. As my husband, knowing about my past is now another of your fundamental rights. There is no detail that I won't tell you. Some of those past things, I'm not very proud of. It is going to be very hard for me to talk about some parts, and probably not even the parts you'll expect. That's one of the things I'm going to have to grow into. I'd appreciate it if we could wait until we have some calm time to talk about those things and deal with them."

Chuck just leaned down and kissed her. "Of course," he said. "This is probably selfish. But I'm dying to hear about two things. First, you and Bryce. I know some things that you probably don't. But I'd like to hear it from your perspective. Second, that assignment on the boat with that Lon Kirk dude and the others like it. I get those will be hard for us to talk about. I won't press you. I just want to put on the table… no matter how bad you think something is… you don't have to fear telling me about it. I'll never judge you, no matter what. I'd like to help you deal with those things."

"Thanks, Chuck," Sarah said, smiling warmly and gently placing her hands on his cheeks lovingly. "I do know that. For the record, it's not selfish at all. Actually, talking about Bryce will be one of the easy things. There's not all that much to say. I know you're jealous of him. I get that. But you're misreading the situation, just like he always did. I'm positive that I can quickly convince you that there is no need to feel any jealousy over Bryce Larkin… and there really never was. Let's have that conversation the very next time we can. The Lon Kirk thing is more complicated. The discussion about seduction missions will be harder. I do think that you're probably assuming that it was worse than it really was. For right now, would it be enough to tell you that I'm in love for the first time in my life and newly married? That changes the way I look at both of those issues."

"It's enough," Chuck said. "For right now anyway. So that means Bryce hasn't been putting the moves on you for the past two weeks trying to get you into bed?"

"Unfortunately, it doesn't mean that," Sarah sighed. "He's been putting on the full court press. The moron simply doesn't take no for an answer. But he has been spectacularly unsuccessful. Bryce doesn't have long to live. I'm pretty sure he knew about the order to terminate you. Once I find out for sure, he's on my hit list. So that leads us to what I've been putting off. I guess my hour is up. Maybe it's time to turn back into Agent Walker and spend some energy trying to keep my new husband alive. So how did Ellie fake your death so convincingly? The CIA doesn't miss a trick."

Chuck paused for a moment. "Let's wait and talk more about Bryce some other time," he finally said. "Speaking of predators, Ellie went to Medical School with a guy named Mike Simpson. This guy was all over her. No matter how brutally she shot him down, he always came back for more, even after she was engaged. Devon has confronted him and they've had words more than once. Anyway, he ended up working in the Medical Examiner's office. So when Ellie realized that there was actually a good chance I would live, she knew that she had to do something. If the CIA knew that I was alive, they would just try again. She went to him and begged for his help. He stepped up big time. He faked the autopsy and found another corpse to cremate. Coming from the Coroner's office, everything was official. There was nothing for the CIA to question. You can probably imagine what his price was for committing those multiple felonies."

"Sex?" Sarah asked.

"Probably," Chuck answered sadly. "I don't think it's gotten that far yet."

Sarah was seeing pure red for a long moment. Spies bartered sex for favors every day, Carina probably offered some mark wild sex before she brushed her teeth in the morning. Sex was simply a standard currency in the world they lived in. But Ellie? It was so…. Sarah took a moment to calm her voice. "Does Devon know?" she asked.

"Of course," Chuck answered. "At first, Simpson wanted her to go out with him on a 'date.' It was just dinner and dancing. She would never keep something like that from Devon. Naturally, he isn't too wild about the idea. But he's been very supportive. Together, they decided that a meaningless date was an acceptable sacrifice for what they were asking. That's not even the worst part. Simpson double crossed her. He wasn't content with the single night she promised. Now he's blackmailing her to keep the secret. That's where she is now."

Now Sarah's mind was spinning. One thing was for sure. Dr. Mike Simpson had to die. She knew better than anyone how these pigs thought. If it hadn't already, it would only be a matter of time before his price went up and up. And revenge for her new unofficial sister's lost virtue was only part of it. This guy knew their secret. It was a loose end that simply had to be dealt with. Hopefully, he could provide one more valuable service before his untimely demise. But so far, Chuck's story raised more questions than it answered. Like how did Ellie know that she needed to fake Chuck's death in the first place? What did she know about Chuck's situation with the Intersect? And how did she know it? "Where are we?" she asked.

"We're at my dad's place," Chuck replied.

That wasn't good news. All Sarah knew about her new unofficial father-in-law was that he had abandoned them some years ago. By all accounts, he was a, well, eccentric was the nice word, fringe nut job was probably more accurate… not at all the type of person to be entrusted with this kind of secret.

Chuck grinned at the confused look on her face. "I know," he said. "He's a piece of work. Wait until you meet him. He's even worse than you're thinking. But there is a major complication, one Ellie and I didn't have a clue about. You've probably heard of him."

"Apparently, he's fairly famous in the spy world as Orion."

x-x-x-x-x

At first, Sarah wasn't sure that she had heard him right. Of course, Sarah had heard of Orion. Every spy had. He was the CIA version of the boogie man. Frankly, most agents doubted that he really existed. Sarah knew better. Her 'special' relationship with, the soon to be dead, Director Graham came with some benefits, for both of them really. He wouldn't tell her much, but he did assure her that Orion did, in fact, exist.

Even knowing that, Sarah didn't know how much of the legend was true. If only half of the stories were only half true, that was still something. Orion was a ghost. His technology was so advanced that it often seemed like magic. He did favors for the CIA sometimes. But his loyalty was fuzzy. And that made the CIA brass go nuts. They hated anything they couldn't control. As the story went, they had searched for him for the past twenty years. The CIA would love to have Orion safely tucked away in a bunker someplace doing their unsavory bidding 24x7. But he was always multiple steps ahead of them. Sarah had so many questions running through her head that she couldn't find the one to ask first.

Chuck saw the confused look on his new wife's face and, even though it was cute, decided to help her out. "He came to Ellie a couple of months ago," Chuck said. "He told her about the Intersect and that you were a cover girlfriend. I'm afraid that he doesn't care for you very much. He told Ellie not to trust you, that it was very possible you would terminate me. He told her to keep this secret from me, that I was compromised. He said that I was being played, that I would allow being in love with you to cloud my judgment."

Sarah had to blink pretty quickly to keep the tears at bay. Her new unofficial family hated her… or at least mistrusted her. And the honest truth was, they had every right. A year ago, Agent Walker would have been playing a mark. And when the order came, she'd put a bullet between her asset's eyes without thinking twice. It was the main reason she let Casey live. Because, even though she was horribly disappointed in his decision, she understood his conflict. "When will he be back?" she asked sadly.

"I don't know," Chuck said. "He's been in and out. Mom has been here a couple of times."

That was even more surprising. The legend was that Orion had a sidekick named Frost. Almost nothing was known about her, other than that she was the enforcer… and in that role, she was stone cold ruthless. Sarah actually knew a little about being an enforcer… and what it meant. Was Chuck's mom the infamous Frost? Were they married? Still in love?

Chuck saw the look of despair on her face. He reached down and lifted her chin with his finger. "Okay, since when does badass Agent Walker care if someone doesn't like her?" he asked softly. "You're starting to scare me a little."

Sarah looked at him. His smile said he was making fun of her. Normally Chuck making fun of her wouldn't have gone without an attempt at a stinging comeback. Not this time. She was too grateful. "I imagine that our next Thanksgiving dinner might be a little tense," she said with as much of her own smile as she could muster.

That got Chuck laughing. "I can't imagine what our Thanksgiving dinners will be like," he said. "All I do know is that by Thanksgiving, they are all going to love you just as much as I do."

"Do you really think so?" Sarah asked hopefully.

"No, not really," Chuck teased. "But even if they don't, who cares about them? Even if it ends up being just you and me against the world, I love you enough for all of them."

Chuck couldn't have possibly said anything better to her at that point. "You and me against the world," Sarah said.

"That actually sounds kinda romantic."

x-x-x-x-x

"What in the world is she doing here?"

Sarah was looking at the man who had just entered the room. Thankfully, she had just finished putting her third date dress back on. Being naked would have made an already awkward situation even more so. As it was, her stockings were still on opposite sides of the room. She didn't exactly know what she was expecting… but this wasn't it. If the graying around his temples was any indication, he was about her dad's age. He looked like an average, mild mannered guy, dressed in a flannel shirt and blue jeans. Surely this wasn't the great wizard, Orion, who everyone was so afraid of. So she assumed a defensive stance, ready for battle. "Chuck," she said. "Who is this?"

For the second time in the past couple of hours, Sarah found herself looking at the wrong end of a gun barrel.

"Dad," Chuck said. "Put down your gun. She isn't a threat."

Well at least her question was answered. This was really Orion?

Orion didn't look very comfortable holding the gun. But he didn't put it down. "This is exactly why I didn't want you to know, Charles," he said. "She's playing you. You might think she loves you. Most men would fall for her act. She's a CIA Agent. It's what she does. She'd fuck her own grandfather if the mission called for it."

Sarah looked at the gun. She knew that she didn't stand much of a chance going against the legend that was Orion. But it wasn't Agent Walker's style to back down. And currently they were on her turf. For all of his brilliant wizardry, he wasn't much of a threat with a gun. Why did these amateurs think they could threaten someone with the safety on? She snatched the gun out of his hand as easily as she had his daughter's a couple of hours ago. "If half of what I've heard about you is true," she said angrily. "You've done things that make me fucking my grandfather look like teaching a Sunday School class. So you can shove the righteous indignation right up your ass. I'm not prepared to take crap from you. I'm proud that I was a CIA Agent. Yes, I get that sometimes I was asked to do uncomfortable things. But I'm a force for good in the world. Frankly, the jury is still out on Orion."

Sarah took the gun by the barrel and handed it back to him. "But that's all history now," she ranted. "If I was still a CIA Agent, I could have just delivered Orion and the Intersect on a silver platter. But there is probably a termination order out on me as we speak. Here's the part you're really going to laugh at. I am in love with him. I have been from almost the day we met. I get that you don't believe that. If I was standing in your shoes, I wouldn't believe it either. I have no idea how to prove it to you. But I'm going to spend the rest of my life by his side. I'll fight anyone who tries to get between us… even the all powerful Orion."

Steven didn't show any surprise. He just took the gun and placed it on the table. "You're right," he said. "I don't believe you. You're also right in that there is a termination order out on you. You need to be very careful. Being around Charles is putting him in even more danger."

"How could he possibly be in more danger?" Sarah asked sarcastically. "Understand something. Nobody is harming my husband while I live. It simply isn't going to happen. If I decide that he's safer hiding with me, I'll run with him and you'll never see us again."

If Steven caught that she had just called Chuck her husband, he didn't show it. "Let's take a breath," he said. "Maybe this will work out. If you want to be part of our team, I do have an assignment that only you can do."

That gave Sarah a glimmer of hope. Maybe if she proved valuable, it would eventually earn her some trust. Besides, anything that would make Chuck safer was a good thing. "Okay," she said. "I'm listening."

"Bryce Larkin," Steven said. "I have some history with him. So do you. I'd like to have a little chat with him without the CIA knowing. You can make that happen."

Sarah didn't answer for a long moment. "Agent Larkin is a CIA Agent," she finally said. "You just confirmed that there is a termination order on me. If he sees me, the first thing he will do is shoot me in the head." She wasn't absolutely sure that Bryce would shoot her at this point. But she also wasn't absolutely sure that he wouldn't. Was that Orion's plan to get rid of her? To get her killed?

"Come on, Agent Walker," Steven said sarcastically. "Agent Larkin is the reason there is a termination order on you in the first place. But you're forgetting your particular genius. Agent Larkin already thinks you're in love with him. Certainly you must have established some off channel way to communicate with him. Are you really telling me that he wouldn't meet you unofficially at some motel to 'talk' things over? A couple of days, and I'm sure you could talk him into almost anything you wanted."

Now Sarah was seeing pure red. "You're suggesting that I sleep with him," she said.

"Of course," Steven said. "Come on, Agent Walker. What's the big deal?"

"I'm not sleeping with Bryce Larkin," Sarah said firmly. "Or anybody else when it comes down to it. Those tactics are off the table."

"I thought you said that you wanted to help protect Charles," Steven said. "This is a vital assignment. Your reputation is that you'll do anything required to complete the assignment. Are you all talk? Maybe I'm giving you too much credit."

"I'm not sleeping with him!" Sarah shouted. "What part of that didn't you understand? Even if that would work, I just took a vow… forsaking all others. That's now more important to me than anything in the world. And it wouldn't work anyway. You want to protect Chuck? Fine, I'm all for that. But tell me… how do you think you can protect someone by killing them? The idea of me sleeping with Bryce would do exactly that. I can't believe you don't see that. It's not happening."

Steven's smile belied the tenseness of Sarah screaming at him.

Suddenly Sarah understood what had just happened. She picked up the gun from the table and ejected the clip. "You know," she said as she saw what she expected and tossed the empty clip back on the table in disgust. "You probably think you're pretty clever. Test me all you want. Test me a thousand more times if you need to. I'm going to pass every one. I love him. He loves me. We're going to be together for the rest of our lives. And there's not a fucking thing you can do about that. So let's stop beating around the bush. Bottom line… are we going to be friends or enemies?"

"I hope you're not expecting an apology for testing you," Steven said. "Because you're not going to get one. I had to be sure. I had to see for myself what Charles and Eleanor have been telling me for the past month. So as it turns out, they were right. We could be friends."

"But more important, let's work on being a family."

x-x-x-x-x


	4. The Family War

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: This is still going to get dark. Not in a sex or adult situations way. The story will be pretty tame in that regard. But Beckman and Graham ordered a law abiding American citizen to be murdered… simply because he was an inconvenience for them. Casey seemed willing to execute the order. I don't see how the writers could possibly expect us to like or trust them after that._

 _So expect a serious war. Ellie, and especially Sarah, are pissed. They aren't going to take any prisoners. Neither is the CIA. There will be multiple character deaths._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **The Family War**

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah really didn't know what to do. Ten seconds ago they were facing off, screaming at each other. Now he wanted to be family? She wasn't sure she believed that… not yet. But maybe it was time to relax the Agent Walker defensive, ready for battle stance she was currently assuming… a little anyway.

Chuck had stayed out of their screaming match. But now he was sitting on the side of the bed, with his hand held out to her. He didn't have any experience being a husband, had only been one for a couple of hours. So maybe it was just beginner's luck. But there wasn't much better he could have done for his new unofficial wife than to silently allow her to calmly hold his hand. "That went well," he said with his classic grin. "I think he really likes you. I think he likes you more than he does me." Again, his teasing was just what Sarah needed.

Steven really wasn't paying attention to them. With the single push of a button, one entire wall of the, seemingly primitive cottage, was instantly transformed into a high tech center that rivaled the communications room at Castle. There were monitors basically everywhere you looked. Whatever he was doing, he was consumed by it. The newlyweds were forgotten… for the moment at least.

"Thank you for refusing to sleep with Bryce," Chuck said. "Even if it was just a test… hearing you say it so forcefully really helped me."

Sarah sat on the bed and sided into him comfortably. Bryce Larkin was obviously a topic that she was going to have to deal with very carefully. There wasn't a thing wrong with that. In fact, it was kinda cute. There were definitely topics that Chuck was going to have to deal with very carefully. "Don't thank me," she answered. "I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that it's the first rule of being a wife. Never sleep with your husband's nemesis… or anyone else, when it comes right down to it."

"I know," Chuck said. "Technically we didn't include 'forsaking all others' in our unofficial vows. Maybe we should fix that. I get that I'm unreasonably sensitive when it comes to you and Bryce. It's something I need to work on. So, Sarah, thank you anyway."

The moment they were sharing screamed for an 'I love you.' As romantically clueless as she admittedly was, even Sarah knew that. She also knew that words weren't her strength. The last thing she wanted was to say something and have it come off as forced, or ever worse, fake. That would be worse than not saying anything at all. So maybe it would be better to make another kind of statement instead. She knew that Chuck was bashful about strong public displays of affection. So with his father in the room, even if he wasn't currently paying all that much attention to them, she wasn't planning on making out with him so overtly. She only wanted a simple kiss from her new husband… to maybe show him with her actions what she sucked at saying with her words. The making out part just sorta happened. And if Chuck was bashful, he was most definitely getting over it. Their tongues danced for a long, wonderful moment.

"Sarah, I have something you should see."

Sarah was honestly torn. She had never felt closer to Chuck than she did at this moment. Oh, the making love earlier was great. Even 'great' didn't do it justice. It was life changing. But in a very real way, this was even better. His arms around her made her feel, well she didn't have the words to describe it. It was the first moment when she felt comfortably married. She found that she didn't want it to end… ever really.

On the other hand, she had to keep him alive. They were in the middle of a very real war. She instinctively understood that Orion calling her Sarah instead of Agent Walker was intentional, a huge gesture from him. He sounded genuinely friendly. And if you were in trouble and you had a chance to be partnered with the great Orion… you'd be stone cold stupid to pass it up. "Don't go anywhere," she whispered to Chuck with a last quick kiss and a grin. "I don't think I'm quite finished showing you the things I suck at saying. I'll be right back."

When she got up, Steven was pointing to one of the monitors. There was a split screen. On the left, she immediately recognized Beckman and Graham. On the right was obviously Casey. "This is the conversation where they ordered Major Casey to terminate Charles," Steven stated.

Sarah listened to the conversation for a moment. She noted, with some amusement, Casey's strong attempt at a protest. Not that it ultimately mattered… he still carried out the order. But it was nice that he went to bat for Chuck. Far more important to her was how Orion had access to this conversation in the first place. The CIA used the same security measures on those 'secure' conversations that protected the Nuclear Fleet. And that meant… "How did you break the CIA security code?" she asked. "You could launch our nukes."

Steven's smile was now warm and friendly. "That would start a war," he teased. "Sarah, that's not how to do it. If I wanted to start a war, I'd just launch a missile from a Russian sub and wait ten minutes for the predictable response. They're much more lax in their security measures. The U.S. would eventually figure out what happened. The Russians never would."

Chuck didn't have time to warn her. Once he had accepted you, you didn't ask Steven how he did something unless you were prepared for him to tell you… in excruciating detail. It didn't take long before he was pulling down a notebook and showing Sarah the specs for the magic circuit he invented that broke the CIA super secret encryption code… and apparently lots more. As it turned out, a lot of his inventions made their way into Roark Industries somehow and made billions. It obviously bothered Steven that he was never paid a dime… because he ranted about it more than once. All she could do was pretend to be interested and smile at his cute rambling. It was now rather obvious where Chuck picked up the trait.

While she was standing there, she could feel Chuck come up behind her, wrap his arms around her waist, and nuzzle her neck. This was the first time Chuck felt secure enough to show her any overt affection on his own. She was wrong earlier. Now she really felt married. It felt like… well, again she had no words.

"Dad," Chuck said. "Sarah is brilliant but she doesn't understand a word of this." He tightened his grip. "You don't, do you?" he asked. "I'm sorry if I'm underestimating you."

Sarah grabbed his arms and pulled them around her even tighter. She could only smile at his sensitivity about insulting her. But he was right. "I only understand that it's very impressive," she said. "I'll bet you understand it."

"Some," Chuck admitted. "It's going to take a while."

"Don't let him fool you," Steven laughed. "He understands more than he's letting on. He was always the genius, this one."

Sarah was reluctant to end this nice family moment. Okay, so they were a different kind of family, but still. She knew that if she didn't quickly get her mind off the sensation of Chuck playfully nibbling on her ear, she wouldn't be held responsible for her actions. So she reached out and touched Steven's arm. "Thank you for showing me," she said. "I'm still disappointed that Casey would actually pull the trigger. But they really didn't give him much choice."

"That's not why I showed you," Steven replied. "There's more." He pushed a button and a different conversation was playing. The time stamp in the corner read this morning. This one still had Beckman and Graham on the left. But now they were talking to Bryce.

Sarah bristled at Bryce's insistence that he could easily charm her into bed… especially with Chuck standing there listening to it. "He's an arrogant sonofabitch, isn't he?" she growled.

If Sarah was worried about Chuck, she needn't have. She could feel him chuckling into her neck. "Bryce never suffered from a lack of self-confidence with the ladies," he said. "I could tell you stories about Bryce that, well, you probably wouldn't see the humor."

"That's funny," Sarah said, laughing. "Because I could tell you stories about Bryce that, well, you most definitely wouldn't see the humor."

Sarah knew that teasing him about Bryce was dangerous territory. She couldn't help it. It was too funny. If he was going to dish it out… Again, if she was worried about his reaction, she needn't have been. He just laughed. "Fair enough," he said.

Steven watched their playful teasing for a long moment, trying hard to hide showing how impressed he was. "Wait," he finally said. "There's more."

It only took a few moments of listening before Sarah could get the gist of the conversation. "They're going to terminate Casey," she said, more to herself than anybody.

"I'm afraid so," Steven said. "He must really have some serious guilt. They have come to the conclusion that he's a liability. Sarah, Larkin ratted you out. They would terminate you too if they could find you."

Chuck tightened his grip on Sarah's waist. "We have to save him," he implored excitedly.

Sarah smiled at her husband. He was a nice guy. He wanted to save everyone. But he had a particularly soft spot for Casey. Fortunately, this time she didn't have to be the bad guy.

"We can't save him," Steven said. "Even if we wanted to. It would be incredibly dangerous."

"Sweetie," Sarah said, breaking out of the embrace and turning to face him. "Your Dad's right. Casey shot you. We have no idea where his head is at right now. Just because they are going to terminate him doesn't mean he isn't dangerous to us. It sucks that they are just going to dispose of him. He doesn't deserve that. But Casey knew what he was getting into. We need to concentrate on keeping you safe."

Sarah," Chuck insisted. "Dad. Casey is our team. You heard the conversation. He didn't want to do it. They didn't give him a choice."

Sarah had heard that tone from Chuck many times. A month ago, she probably would have made another attempt at getting him to listen to reason. Now she knew better. This was now decided. Fighting about it would be futile.

Chuck didn't realize that she had already surrendered. "Guys, we're saving him," raising his voice a little for emphasis. He turned to his newlywed wife. "You wanted me to be the guy in our marriage, whatever I thought that meant. Well, this is part of what I think it means. We're saving Casey."

"I'm putting my foot down."

x-x-x-x-x

Of course, Ellie picked that exact moment to return. Sarah was happy to see her. At least she was safe… a little disheveled maybe. But whatever this creep had put her through in this latest 'date'… it had only taken a couple of hours. That meant it hadn't gotten too extreme… yet.

When Ellie saw that her dad was there, she made a beeline for the bedroom.

Sarah gave Chuck a reassuring look and followed her into the room. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked quietly as she closed the door. "Chuck explained the situation to me. I get how lonely this kind of thing can be."

"What's there to talk about?" Ellie sighed. "I'm a whore."

"Ellie," Sarah said firmly. "Please stop saying that. You're not a whore. Nobody thinks that. You found yourself in a desperate situation. You used the only resource you had available. Your quick thinking saved your brother's life. I'm very proud of you. If you wouldn't have made that sacrifice, I wouldn't have anything to live for. I'll always be grateful."

"You don't understand," Ellie protested. "He's insane. The man is actually trying to coerce me into a romance. He actually thinks we're going to be together. Not only that, he drips with arrogance. Next time will be our third date. He went on and on about what that meant. He's getting a hotel room. He wants me to bring some sexy negligee and spend the night." Ellie paused to bury her face in her hands. "This is a nightmare. Sarah, I shouldn't have allowed this to get this far. I can't do this to Devon."

Sarah had to spend a long moment gathering her composure. This wasn't the time for hothead Agent Walker to go postal and start throwing things around the room. That's not what Ellie needed. So she called on her training and pushed her anger down deep with a cleansing breath. "I know," she finally said. "This is how men like that act when they think that they have a woman helpless. The good news is that you're not going to do anything to hurt Devon. This guy has to die anyway. He knows too much."

"Sarah," Ellie sighed. "I get that we're at war. Dad's already given me the full lecture about war. It's kill or be killed. Here's the thing. I'm not sure if I can make myself shoot someone, not even him."

"I know that too," Sarah said. "Trust me, it's a good thing. I hope that Chuck and you never have to know that feeling. Let's leave the killing to me for as long as we possibly can. That's my role. Ellie, please don't get me wrong. I'm not a monster. I don't enjoy killing people. I only do it when it's required. But I'm used to it. We can't shoot him anyway. That would attract too much suspicion from the wrong people. He has to appear to die of natural causes. When is your third date?"

"Look," Ellie sighed. "You're a CIA Agent. I get that. Dad's given me the thorough briefing on what that means. I'm not going to lie to you. I find some parts of what that means disgusting."

"Some parts are disgusting," Sarah admitted. "You're right about that. Just like scrubbing out the toilet is disgusting. But it still needs to be done."

"You didn't let me finish," Ellie said. "The truth is I don't know you very well. But I'm a very good judge of character. So I'm pretty sure that I know who you are inside. I'm honestly grateful to have your experience. To answer your question, I'm meeting him tomorrow night. Who knows what he'll expect?"

Sarah was finally able to smile. "Let's work on getting to know each other better," she said. "I'd like that. Actually, I'm pretty sure that I can guess what he'll expect. It's really fairly predictable. It's what any man like that would expect, given the opportunity we're going to present him with. I'm going with you."

Sarah just had to laugh at watching the wheels spinning in her new sister's head until she had worked out her meaning, and the red rushing up her face. "Don't worry, Ellie," she teased. "We're not really going to do anything together. No offense, you could probably be quite the lesbian lover if you ever decided to swing that way, but eww. I'm going to share a little of that experience you were talking about. Spies are thoroughly trained in the art of seduction. Most times, the object of a seduction is to get your mark on fire so that he's willing to do the things that you want. Men are easy. They will do almost anything… tell you their secrets, betray their country or cause… if they think they are going to get rewarded with some really wild sex. But the trick is that, whenever possible, you kill him in some grotesquely painful way just before it's time to actually pay off. That's what we're going to do. Not to brag or anything, but not paying off is something of a talent of mine. I'm quite famous in spy circles. At first, I was called The Ice Queen. Later I became known as The Enforcer."

Ellie was finally able to smile at her overt teasing. "No offense taken," she said. "The 'eww' is right back at you. What do we want him to do?"

Sarah found that she was enjoying mentoring her new unofficial sister-in-law in spy craft. "Actually, what you did with Chuck was brilliant," she said. "I'm so impressed. He is officially dead. Nobody would think to question an official autopsy from the Medical Examiner's office. Promising this creep a chance at romance was the only way to get him to commit multiple felonies and violate his professional code. If I can offer a little constructive criticism, your only mistake was not planning on killing him in some grotesquely painful way just before it is time to actually pay off. Ellie, I'm not judging you. You're an amateur. To answer your question, they need to think that Agent Walker is also dead. That's the only way they will stop looking for her and she can live her life peacefully with her new, also dead, husband. It's kinda like the story of Romeo and Juliette, except with a happy ending. I'm pretty sure that together we can make this sicko an offer that will get him to switch off his brain and have him falling all over himself to help us. I'm just not going to make your mistake. No offense. I'm a professional. "

Sarah's overt teasing got a grin. "Husband?" Ellie asked.

"It's currently unofficial," Sarah said as she matched Ellie's grin. "We said our vows to each other while you were gone. Life's too short. I got a second chance at life this afternoon and I'm not going to waste another second. If we get a chance someday, we'll make it official. I know you'd like to see that happen. But, Ellie, to us we're as married right now as we'll ever be."

Ellie wrapped her arms around her. And normally, Sarah would have been uncomfortable with such a strong display… from anybody really, but especially from someone not named Chuck. But this just seemed right. So she hugged back as hard as she could without it seeming like a fighting move. It was surprisingly nice.

"Unofficial wedding," Ellie laughed. "It sure seems to fit our current situation. Maybe I can talk Devon into that."

"Welcome to the unofficial family, Mrs. Bartowski."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah left the bedroom so that Ellie could change back into her conservative clothes. Steven was back pouring over the monitors doing some Orion thing. Chuck was sitting on the bed, so Sarah walked over and sat next to him.

"Is everything okay?" Chuck asked.

Sarah didn't answer, at least not with words. She just leaned in and kissed him. It really wasn't a sexual kiss. It was better than that. It was more affectionate… loving.

"It was really a yes or no question," Chuck teased with a grin as soon as the long kiss broke. "Surely you're good enough with words for that. And, if not, there's always the thumb up or down thing. Don't get me wrong. I love your style of non-verbal communication skills."

"Hey," Sarah protested. "I like kissing my husband. In fact, I like it a lot. But if you insist, yes, everything is okay, or at least it will be. We have to get Ellie's friend to provide the same service for Agent Walker that he provided for you."

Chuck quickly shook his head. "Can we talk about this?" he asked. "I understand that we're at war. This is going to sound like a jealous husband. You think like an agent. I get that, as an agent, you're going to need to do things sometimes that a jealous husband isn't going to like. I even get that I'm being a hypocrite. I've allowed Ellie to do this without much complaint, even knowing where it would lead. But I don't want you to do this. His price is too high."

"You do sound like a jealous husband," Sarah replied with a grin. "Thank you for that. It was sweet. Here is what I want you to listen very closely too. You like to analyze things to death? Well, analyze this to death until you understand. I hid Sarah from you. All you've seen in action is Agent Walker. I was Agent Walker and she was me. As of this morning, Agent Walker no longer exists. I'm a different person than I was yesterday. I now have a husband, who I honestly adore. So I'm still going to be fanatical about keeping him alive. I still have the same weapon. But my tactics using it have changed. Let's put everything on the table so that you know exactly what I will and will not do. Yes, I'm going to smile at this man. I'm going to suggestively flirt with him. I'm going to wear something low cut, bend over, and allow him to think he's copped a look at the top of my chest. I'm going to describe to him, in some vivid level of specificity, the kinky threesome I'm going to reward him with including my new sister-in-law if he does what I ask. I'm sorry about all of that. I get that a husband can't be expected to like any of it. I'd ask for a little understanding. I think what we're getting is worth the sacrifice. But the truth is you have total veto power. If you seriously object, I won't do any of those things. We'll find another way. But, Chuck, listen to me. Even if I do this, you never, ever, ever have to worry about me sleeping with another man. Please get that nasty thought out of your head. It's a line that I will never cross. I didn't expect Ellie to get this. I had hoped after hanging around the CIA for a year, you'd pick up on it. Promising someone sex is different than actually paying off."

That got Chuck grinning in relief. "You mean you would lie to someone about that?" he asked facetiously. "That seems unethical… not to mention cruel."

"Yeah, well, maybe," Sarah said. "I'll admit that the ethics are a little fuzzy. Technically, in this particular situation, I suppose I could spin things a little and just allow him to assume the wild sex. That would be telling him the truth. But it's a moot point. The poor guy is going to die from the drug I'm going to give him just before he can collect. Cruel? Maybe. If it makes you sleep better, he'll die peacefully."

"Okay," Chuck said with an even bigger grin. "As long as you don't lie to him."

They cuddled for a long moment before Chuck suddenly turned serious. "Thank you for finding me," he said. "I never doubted you. Not for a second. I know that Dad was telling me that you were probably in on the termination. Or that you, at least, knew about it. He said you were playing me. But I knew better. I get that being a wife is a new experience for you. I appreciate you going so far outside your comfort zone. I just want you to know that I'll work just as hard."

Wow. Talk about a bolt of lightening out of the blue. Sarah hadn't cried in a few hours. That meant that, based upon recent trends, she was currently overdue. This time the tears were dramatically different.

Chuck had never seen her sob so openly before, so he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close protectively. The concern in his voice was evident. "Sarah," he said. "What's wrong?"

Sarah would probably always hate crying. That's just who she was. This time it didn't seem nearly so bad. She just snuggled into him. "Nothing's wrong," she said. "Not really. In fact, everything is pretty right. I don't think that you understand what I've gone through. It was the worse feeling in the world. The only man I've ever loved died without knowing… all because I was a coward. So now you're being so sweet. It just hit me how close I came to not ever having this experience with you. I got a second chance… one that I don't deserve. I've been an emotional wreck for the past two weeks. I seem to involuntarily start crying at the worst possible times. I'm sorry."

Chuck pulled her in even tighter. "Don't be sorry," he said. "I love it when you're badass. But I love you being willing to share your emotions with me even more. You couldn't have given me a better present than allowing yourself to cry in front of me. It's exactly the kind of thing I've always wanted from you. You never have to worry about hiding your emotions from me. Isn't that a big part of what being married means?"

Of course Chuck was right. This wasn't just someone. This was Chuck… her husband… her other half. She didn't have to be badass Agent Walker anymore. That burden was gone. Now she was just Sarah Bartowski… and maybe she was still going to be a badass sometimes. She'd have to be. They were at war. But now there was someone to share the personal stuff with. For the first time in her life, Sarah found that she really, really liked that. "Yes," was all she could get out without her voice breaking. "Thank you. I'm not going to waste another second."

"You can count on that."

x-x-x-x-x


	5. The Betrayal

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: This is still going to get dark. Not in a sex or adult situations way. The story will be pretty tame in that regard. But Beckman and Graham ordered a law abiding American citizen to be murdered… simply because he was an inconvenience for them. Casey seemed willing to execute the order. I don't see how the writers could possibly expect us to like or trust them after that._

 _So expect a serious war. Ellie, and especially Sarah, are pissed. They aren't going to take any prisoners. Neither is the CIA. There will be multiple character deaths._

 _One of the things that I don't think that the show did well was show us the difference to Sarah between her spy love interests (Bryce, Cole, Shaw) and Chuck. I get why they didn't. They always teased us with Sarah's desire to become a normal girl, and at first, that's what Chuck represented. But let's face it, if Sarah ever becomes a normal girl, she is far less interesting and the show basically becomes boring. So they had to dilute that conflict and make Sarah choose being a spy. So by necessity, eventually Sarah's decision always boiled down to the choice between two men._

 _I don't see it that way. I think it's a much better story if Sarah's choice is not between two men but between two lives. If she stays a spy, she's not allowed to be in love. The most she can have is a partner who meets each other's sexual needs. If she wants love, she can't be a spy. Or if she is, there has to be something more important to her than duty. That's how I've always written her._

 _I bring this up because it follows that Bryce, Cole, and Shaw were spies too. Sarah was partners with them. She couldn't expect any of those men to love her… and in my view they didn't. Cole and Shaw made no bones about their interest in Agent Walker… pure sex. Bryce seemed different. We're going to see that explained in this chapter._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **The Betrayal**

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah was still snuggled comfortably into Chuck when Ellie came out of the bedroom. She watched with interest as Ellie basically ignored them, went directly to where her dad was sitting at one of the computer consoles, and sat next to him. Sarah couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could tell that he had been expecting her and they were working on something. After a moment, they were both pointing rather animatedly to different parts of the computer screen. "Are they fighting about something?" she asked.

Chuck didn't answer. He just reached down and kissed her. Like earlier, the kiss wasn't sexual. Well, maybe this time it was… a little.

Chuck taking the lead in the romance department sure changed Sarah's mood. So she was finally able to smile. "It was really a yes or no question," she teased, throwing his own words back at him. "Don't get me wrong. Your non-verbal communication skills are top shelf too."

That got Chuck laughing. "Hey," he replied. "I like kissing my new wife. They're actually always like that when they're working. This is nothing. You should have seen them the other day. They both think that they're right… well, pretty much all the time. Neither is bashful about saying so. But it never seems to affect their relationship."

"What are they working on?" she asked, now honestly interested.

Chuck was surprised that she would ask that question. But he quickly realized that Sarah hadn't heard the entire story yet so she wouldn't know any specifics. They had been too busy with the personal stuff… not that he was complaining. "They're working on upgrading the Intersect," he said.

Sarah was stunned. Okay, so maybe Orion was a genius. But somewhere deep in the bowels of the CIA, there was a whole team working full time on the Intersect. Even Sarah didn't know many details. It was as classified a project as they had. "What do they know about the Intersect?" she asked.

Chuck laughed even harder at the stunned look on her face. "Ellie's specialty is Neurology," he explained. "So that makes some sense, right? Dad? As it turns out, he invented it."

So now Sarah's head was spinning. That one fact instantly connected a lot of dots for her. But it also brought many more questions into play than it answered. Chuck's dad had invented the Intersect? So Bryce sending it to Chuck wasn't random? Orion said he had a relationship with Bryce. What did that mean? By his tone, it sure didn't sound like they were friends. Or was that just made up to be part of her test? What did Graham and Beckman know? What was Ellie's role in all of this? She seemed really comfortable arguing with him. They plainly enjoyed working together. Sarah again had so many questions popping into her head all at once, that she couldn't find the one to ask first.

Chuck saw the confused look and decided to help her out. "This is an unusual situation we find ourselves in," he said with a grin. "It's usually you who knows more about these things than I do. Don't worry. I'll tell you everything you want to know. I've only heard most of this myself in the past few days. There are some details I'm fuzzy on. But we'll find out the answers together. Let's start at the beginning."

Sarah nodded gratefully. Chuck had already guessed that the new Mrs. Bartowski hated to be kept in the dark just as much as Agent Walker had. He was getting into this husband thing. Telling her that they would find out the answers together was exactly the right thing to say… one of those endearing things that made Chuck romantic without really trying. She knew that she could probably get the answers she needed faster by asking him specific questions. He would ramble telling her the story. But she couldn't help it. He was so damned cute. She knew that if she stayed in this comfortable position snuggled into him, she wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything except how good he felt. So she sat up and smiled. "Thank you."

"We can talk about how you say 'grateful' using your non-verbal skills later," Chuck teased. "Dad came up with the idea just after I was born. He worked on it by himself for several years. He already told you about Ted Roark being his college roommate. Well, the early plans for the Intersect were one of those things that he stole. As it turns out, Roark isn't that nice of a guy. He is the founder and leader of Fulcrum."

Chuck laughed at the shock in her eyes. "I know," he said. "That part blew me away too. But it makes sense, right? Anyway, that meant that Fulcrum has been working on their own version of the Intersect for years now. Dad knew that if they successfully perfected it, Fulcrum would win the war and become the most powerful organization in the world. He sure didn't want that. That meant they would be able to turn their full attention to capturing Orion. Fulcrum with an Intersect and Orion in their control would be unstoppable. Ted Roark is one of the richest men in the world. But even he couldn't match the resources that the government could commit to this research. So, even though the CIA isn't his favorite, Dad held his nose, reached out to them, and offered to share his plans. As you can imagine, they fell all over themselves accepting. That was about six years ago. He reached out to a rookie agent that he knew about because he happened to be his son's roommate at college. That agent became his contact."

Since that was the very last thing that she expected him to say, it took a moment longer than it normally would for Sarah to make the connection. As soon as she did, Sarah was seeing nothing but red. "Sonofabitch," she muttered. "Bryce knew about this before we even met? He never said a word to me. I'm going to fucking kill him."

Chuck was still grinning. "Absolutely," he said. "Normally I would be against killing. I'm making an exception in this case. Just promise me that I can watch. Trust me. You haven't even begun to want to kill him yet. It gets worse. You're already pissed. So maybe we should save some of the details of Agent Larkin's sordid activities for a calmer time. It's not a pleasant story."

Sarah shook her head. "Please tell me now," she said. "I'll try and calm down. It will drive me crazy until I hear the whole story. How bad can it be?"

"It's bad," Chuck warned. "Fair warning… you're really not going to like this. But I don't want to keep anything from you. As you can imagine, Bryce being the only agent who could contact Orion directly gave him a ton of leverage within the CIA. He really never pushed very hard. There was only one major request. There was this girl… also an agent. He ran into her once at Langley. Her long, blonde hair was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. I have to admit, he was right about that. Anyway, he was obsessed with the idea of getting her in bed. You're probably aware that Bryce never had problems in the romance department. So he asked her out once. When she politely turned him down, he turned on the Bryce charm which had never failed him before. But this particular girl was resistant. Apparently she was used to smooth talking men trying to charm her into bed so she, maybe this time somewhat less politely, shot him down yet again. We both know Bryce well enough to know that just made the idea of getting her into bed a quest. So he went to the CIA and they… um… obtained her for him. They pulled her off the team she was working with and assigned her to be his partner. They put them in incredibly intimate situations. They set up several fake missions where he would impress her by 'risking' his life to save hers. The results were fairly predictable. Agent Larkin got what he wanted."

Sarah could feel the red creeping quickly up her neck and into her face. She had been played? For almost an entire year? She honestly couldn't remember shooting Bryce down. It happened so often with different arrogant spies that they sort of blended together in her mind. But now some things made sense. She always wondered why she was pulled off the CAT Squad just when they were becoming so successful. And all the times he miraculously came out of nowhere to save her from a hopeless situation. Or the many times she found herself on an assignment with the cover of being a honeymooner… looking in her bag to discover that her assigned mission wardrobe contained only an invisible negligee to wear to the single bed.

Chuck saw the red rushing up her face. "Don't be embarrassed, Sarah" he pleaded quietly, taking her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "This is why I didn't want to tell you. It wasn't all bad. You did perform a ton of actual missions. You did turn out to be a great team. It's obvious that you came to care for him. I think that Bryce came to actually care for you in his own way. I even think, at the end, that there might have been a little guilt about playing you… not much, but a little. Yes, he set you up sometimes to get a wild 'reward.' At best, he was a predator. He took full advantage of the situation. You didn't figure it out. But nobody would have."

Sarah had promised him that she would calm down. So she willed as normal a tone into her voice as she could muster. "Did Graham know?" she asked. That would be disappointing. Sarah didn't doubt the story for a second. She knew her former agency. Bryce was a spy. Spies took what they wanted using whatever means necessary. Things like morals really weren't a factor. And if he had that much leverage, there would be almost no limit to what the CIA would do to keep him happy. Sacrificing the 'virtue' of one of their female agents? It was a small price to pay, didn't even come close to the limit. Sarah was surprised they just didn't just 'order' her to keep him happy. Maybe they had figured out that she would refuse such a demeaning assignment. Maybe Bryce wanted the thrill of the conquest. Manipulating her into rewarding him with wild sex after 'saving' her life? That was a predictable hot button for Agent Walker. None of that was surprising. But Graham? His betrayal would hurt a lot worse than Bryce's. She thought that they had a special relationship. After all of the things she had done personally for him, often risking prison or worse, he would treat her like this?

Chuck instinctively realized that there was more to Sarah's relationship with Graham than he knew about. But that was a conversation for another day. "Yes," he answered gently, looking carefully for her reaction. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but a lot of the details were his suggestion. Dad has showed me conversations between Graham and Bryce where he was being briefed on the best strategy to get his new partner between the sheets. Apparently, Graham knew that was something of a challenge. But he knew her, knew what would work. Demanding some new 'activity' as a reward for 'saving her life' was a sure fire tactic. Bryce was never bashful bragging about the intimate details of his new conquest. They weren't playing fair. Nothing was left to chance. More than once, she was secretly slipped the newest version of whichever experimental drug the CIA was working on that month to assist in gaining a young lady's sexual cooperation. Some of those worked well on her… and some didn't. They laughed and called it field research."

This story was getting worse and worse by the second. Sarah knew that she had to calm down. Just like with Ellie a few minutes ago, throwing stuff around the room wouldn't help anything. One thing was for sure. She wasn't taking this crap from them. If he wasn't before, Bryce Larkin was now a dead man. Graham wasn't far behind.

The surprising thing was how well she was taking this. A year ago, this story would have sent Agent Walker on an, out of control, five state killing spree. Now she found that she was more worried about how this would affect her new husband. It was actually something of a nice feeling… further proof, as if she needed any, that she had dramatically changed. She was now much more wife than she was spy. Sarah suddenly realized that this was probably just as horrible for him. She looked her new husband in the eye. "Are you okay?" she asked. "I imagine thinking about this is just as bad for you."

Fortunately Chuck's smile was relaxed and genuine. "It's not my favorite story," he teased. "Please don't let this ruin our wedding night. We have to deal with Agent Larkin. The truth is, this works out even better for me. You didn't fall in love with him. You were manipulated. So now I don't have to be jealous. I just want to kill him. I couldn't possibly hate the CIA any more than I always have. This is exactly what Dad keeps saying. They are as evil as the people they are fighting. You have to admit, he has a point. All of this happened before we met anyway. So, all in all, as long as you're okay, I'm okay. According to what Bryce was telling Graham, he taught you all kinds of sex type things. I'm thinking, in the long run, that's a good thing for me. I just wish that I had heard about the sure fire strategy to get Agent Walker between the sheets a year ago. It might have come in handy. I saved your life a few times. I don't remember being rewarded with wild sex."

Chuck teasing her about this was the very best thing he could have done. Of course, he knew that. He was looking out for her. The laugh came out pretty wet. Like the sweetest guy in the world would ever manipulate or drug her to get wild sex against her will. No way. That's not who he was. And he had a point about the CIA. He had an even better point about the wedding night. "I'm happy to give you all of the newlywed, wild sex you can handle when you are strong enough. Um, Chuck, a little heads up. You'll never have to ask me twice. In my defense, I'd like to point out that you changed me. I don't think that you understand how much. Before you, sex was honestly never that big of a deal to me. I mean, I usually could enjoy it. But it didn't consume me like the other agents I worked with. I used to think of it mostly as a currency. Yes, we never said it that plainly, but we both knew that a lot of our sex was a payment for something he did on an assignment. I get that saying it out loud makes me sound like a whore. I just found out that he cheated me into paying more often than he really deserved. I guess I shouldn't have expected any better from him. Sex is all he ever wanted from me. But here's the thing. I no longer think of sex like that. It has suddenly become very important to me. Maybe you'll never get me to use sex as a currency to pay you for something. But I'll make love with you anytime you want, basically in any position you can think of, it'll be my idea more times than yours, and I'll enjoy it more than you will. Bryce could never say any of those things."

"I know," Chuck said, laughing. "You don't realize how cruel you're being. It's a pretty horrible time to be weak from being shot. I'm going to kick Casey in the shins… right after we save him."

Sarah sided into him affectionately. "You and me both pal," she said. "Except I'm going to kick him a little higher. I would like to point out that I've saved your life a few times as well. I deserve a shot at that same reward, don't you think?"

"It's more than fair," Chuck admitted with a laugh. "Collect whenever you want."

Sarah sat up again and they shared a long laugh. Yes, it was a horrible story. But it ultimately didn't matter. All of that spy stuff was in the past. She was here now, the only place she wanted to be. It was too special to spend any time bothered by any past betrayal. This was just one more thing to add to her list of things that needed to be avenged. And in a very real way, this honestly helped her. Now she could hate Bryce without any guilt.

"Chuck," Sarah said. "Please listen to me. I never loved him. He didn't love me either. That's why he was safe for me. Spies aren't allowed to be in love. With Bryce there was no temptation. I understand that you were jealous of him. You just said that I cared for him. Okay, I get what you mean. I did like working with him. As spies, we clicked in the field. Personally, we had some good times. I even initiated the sex sometimes. I know he thought that translated into me loving him. I'll admit that I encouraged him to think that. He's even heard me say the words. It made our life easier. But it was only the spy version of love, empty and shallow. Even I didn't totally understand the difference until I met you. You're the only man I'm ever going to love. I told Bryce exactly that just a few hours ago at your funeral. I never knew what love felt like. It's wonderful, surprisingly intense, but maybe a little overwhelming sometimes. It's night and day compared to what I had with Bryce. I'm not good with words. But I need you to know that."

Chuck didn't hesitate. "I do know that," he said. "Sarah, you worry too much about the words. You're doing fine."

"I'm afraid there is some bad news here," Sarah said, more to change the subject than anything. "I think that Bryce was just boasting about teaching me sex things."

"That's disappointing," Chuck said. "I was looking forward to showing you what Jill taught me. Interesting fact, I can now beg for sex in four languages. Well, five, if you include Klingon."

That got them both laughing.

"Trust me on something," Sarah was finally able to say. "If either of us is ever going to be begging for sex, it will be me. But the good news is that I did spend two years partnered with Carina. That means there aren't many sex things I haven't witnessed from multiple angles. And since I'm better with action, I think, going forward, that will turn out to be a very good thing for you… as soon as you can survive the process. So back to my new family's story. What aspect of the Intersect are they working on upgrading?"

"I forget," Chuck teased. "Why don't we talk some more about that action stuff you're planning? Maybe you can use your non-verbal skills. Like, what exactly did Carina teach you?"

That got them both laughing again. "Okay," Sarah said. "I told you that you would never have to ask me twice. I guess we can take a break from your story for a while. We've already established that I'm better with action. So I'm afraid that most of my part of the history lesson is going to have to wait until you're stronger… and your dad and sister aren't in the same room. Carina didn't teach me this. In fact, she's never done it. But I want you to know something. I love you."

Maybe Chuck was normally shy about PDA. But that evidently didn't apply to their wedding night. He met her half way. Their make out session was as hot as one could imagine as their tongues danced. "Wow," he panted with his patented grin as one of long kisses broke. "Mission accomplished."

"I love you too."

x-x-x-x-x

Steven and Ellie finally took a break from their intense technical discussion. Their attention was quickly drawn to where the newlyweds were still intensely necking. "I'm a little surprised that you're not gloating," Steven said. "You're usually not bashful about claiming victory in an argument."

Ellie didn't answer. "Look at them," she sighed. "They look so… happy. Have you ever seen two people more in love?"

Now it was Steven's turn to avoid a question. "You really like her," he stated matter-of-factly.

"I've always liked her," Ellie admitted. "I always hoped that we could become closer friends. I could never figure out why she was holding back when she was so obviously head-over-heels for him. I was even starting to question if she was going to break his heart someday. So your news that she was an agent made sense to me. I understand that you were wary of her. Even you would have to admit, the girl was in a tough spot. But I knew. In a way, the CIA killing Chuck was a good thing. It forced her hand."

"Appearances can be deceiving," Steven warned. "Be prepared. CIA agents are asked to do things that regular people can't fathom. Eleanor, this is one area where I know what I'm talking about. You're going to hear stories from her that will shock you, disgust you, maybe even make you nauseous."

Ellie nodded. "I know that, Dad," she said. "I get that she's not the girl next door. But I even like that about her. She's really helping me adjust to all of this. And you have to admit, having her fighting on our team is good for us. Imagine if someone tried to hurt Chuck with that badass sitting next to him. The poor bastard would be dealing with a pissed off mama lioness protecting her cub."

That got a chuckle. "It wouldn't be pretty," Steven admitted.

"Pretty?" Ellie asked as she joined his laughing. "There wouldn't be enough left to autopsy."

"I think you're right," Steven said. "She's going to be fanatically protective of him. I'm afraid that's a double edged sword."

"When the time comes, will she be okay with our plans for him?"

x-x-x-x-x

The newlyweds had ramped up their make out session to a new level… one befitting a couple who had been married for two hours. They were so into it that, for some time, neither was aware that Steven and Ellie were standing there grinning at them. When Chuck finally realized the situation, he broke the embrace guiltily.

If Chuck's plan was that expressing guilt would avoid being mercilessly teased by his sister, well, he failed miserably. "Getting him ready for another treatment, I see," she said approvingly. She turned to her dad. "Sarah is helping Chuck recover," she explained in faux seriousness. "She's keeping his blood evenly distributed."

Steven felt emboldened to join in. "Very impressive," he teased as he stroked his chin. "She looks to be a natural at this medical stuff."

Sarah was glowing. Being teased by her new family had her on cloud nine. It was the final proof that they had accepted her. Chuck? Probably not so much. "Very funny," he grumbled.

"I hate to interrupt such an effective treatment session," Ellie said playfully. "But I'm afraid we have some things we need to do. We need to work out the sleeping arrangements. Sarah needs some clothes. I imagine that her room is being monitored."

"Ellie," Sarah said. "Don't worry about that. I have a safe house that nobody knows about."

"You mean the one in Pasadena?" Steven asked.

Sarah could feel the blush rising up her neck. She bought the house about six months ago. It was where she was planning to hide Chuck if they decided to take him to a bunker. She had used all of her training to make very sure that nobody, not even the CIA, could ever find them. Even Carina didn't know any specifics. Evidently, trying to hide things from Orion was going to be an ongoing challenge. "Yes," she admitted. "I have everything I need there."

Chuck could see that she was embarrassed. "Pasadena?" he teased. "That's a pretty expensive neighborhood. Did I marry into money? Is my new wife rich? So what is our community property situation? Full disclosure… I have almost three hundred dollars in my bank account. Half of that is now yours."

That got the entire room laughing. Sarah was very grateful that his teasing defused what could have been a tense situation. And this wasn't the time to get into it. But, yes, by his standards, she was rich. Field agents were paid a considerable salary. And constantly being in the field for the past ten years, she really didn't have much chance to spend any of it. "It's not a big house," she explained. "We'll probably have to sell it."

"I'll drop you off there on my way back home," Ellie said. Responding to Sarah's distressed look, Ellie grinned. "Don't worry," she said. "We'll take Chuck too. I wouldn't separate you on your wedding night."

"If you go overboard with your treatments and kill him, at least he'll die happy."

x-x-x-x-x


	6. The Wedding night

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: This is still going to get dark. Not in a sex or adult situations way. The story will be pretty tame in that regard. But Beckman and Graham ordered a law abiding American citizen to be murdered… simply because he was an inconvenience for them. Casey seemed willing to execute the order. I don't see how the writers could possibly expect us to like or trust them after that._

 _So expect a serious war. Ellie, and especially Sarah, are pissed. They aren't going to take any prisoners. Neither is the CIA. There will be multiple character deaths._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **The Wedding Night**

x-x-x-x-x

"Wow," Chuck said. "This is fabulous. Just how rich are you anyway?"

Sarah grinned in relief as she heard the excitement in his voice. She had to get fairly harsh to keep him from trying to carry his new bride over the threshold. At least, his excitement meant he wasn't angry at her. He hadn't even seen most of the house yet. The plain truth was she thought the house was pretty fabulous too. It was a relief that he thought so. She had picked it out with him in mind. At the time, she hadn't been looking for something quite so upscale. But she fell in love with the house the moment she saw it. It was perfect. Besides, it was at the very low point of the housing crash and the sellers were desperate. Now it was worth more than double what she paid. "Well," she teased. "I have half of your two hundred dollar savings account. So I've got that going for me. Too bad we have no way to access it, you being dead and all."

"It's almost three hundred," Chuck teased. "Don't sell me short. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I get it. Let's drop it."

Maybe it was time to give him another lesson in the difference between Agent Walker and Sarah Bartowski. "It's not that I don't want to talk about it," Sarah said. "Chuck, come on. That's not it at all. For one thing, I don't have any money. We forgot to sign an unofficial prenuptial agreement. So that means that WE have money. I'll gladly tell you every detail about every dime we have, and how I got it. Money's never meant all that much to me, but it's a lot, about six million. If you want to talk about that now, I will. I'm just hoping that we can have this discussion later, when it's not our wedding night. A lot of it comes from when I worked with my dad… before the CIA. And, yes, I have a dad. We have to talk about him soon. It's not a nice story. That's going to be one of the hardest things for me to talk about with you. It's a big part of the reason that I've always been so resistant in telling you things about myself. I'm not proud of who I was then. I do want you to know that any money I got on my own, I got honestly. I know spies have lots of opportunities on missions to take money that no one would ever know about. You saw the deal with Carina and that diamond. I never did anything like that."

Chuck reached out and grabbed her arm. "You have a good point about the wedding night," he said. "I'm sorry that I pressed you. I promised that I wouldn't do that. I'm even sorrier if you think that I was questioning you. I was mostly teasing. I don't really care about the money other than I'm glad that we won't have to worry about it. We have the rest of our lives to talk about money. In my defense, I'm just getting used to being married."

Sarah smiled at him. "I think we're both going to have to get used to being married," she said. "And we're probably going to have some awkward moments to work through. But the wonderful parts completely dominate the awkward parts, don't they? We probably need to work hard to cut each other a lot of slack… probably me more than you. You're already a nice guy."

Suddenly they were kissing. Maybe they both had things about being married to get accustomed to… but kissing sure wasn't one of them. They were in mid season form in that area. Kissing wasn't even the right word. It was a continuation of their make out session in Orion's room… except now they were alone. It wasn't long before Sarah could feel him tugging on the zipper to her dress. Since she had intentionally bought a dress that was easy to take off, in an instant it was hanging loosely from her shoulders. Not long after that, she felt his hand sliding into the open front. Okay, so it wasn't their first time rounding second base. The first time, earlier today in his hospital bed, she had to almost drag him there. This time the idea was all his own.

Chuck taking the lead in the physical department was unexpected… but so incredibly hot. Breaking that kiss was maybe the hardest thing Sarah had ever done in her life. "Sweetie," she half whispered and half moaned. "I'm all for this. I love it when you're aggressive. I told you any time and any place. If you want to go for it right now here on the plastic covered couch, that's more than fine with me. I want this more than you do. But your sister is going to be back any minute. She just went to pick us up some groceries. The furniture is still covered with plastic and the bed isn't made. Wouldn't it be better if we put this on hold for a few minutes until we can do it right? I promise that I'll do everything that I possibly can to make it worth the wait."

Chuck spent a moment weighing the pros and cons in his mind. Finally he removed his hand from her chest with a sigh. "We'll wait," he said. "Ellie has already seen us going at it twice, which is two times too many. I'm tired of her teasing me about it. Hopefully she'll drop off the groceries and won't want to make small talk with her new sister. She tends to babble on and on… and on."

That got Sarah laughing. "It runs in her family," she said as she zipped her dress back up. She pulled the protective plastic off the sofa and folded it. "Why don't you calm yourself down a little, sit here, and check out the new TV while I make the bed?"

Chuck had noticed the huge television hanging on the wall when he first walked into the room. But it had been driven out of his head by… well, other thoughts. "This is amazing," he admitted.

"Thank Morgan," Sarah said. "I asked him what TV you would pick if money was no object, and this is what he came up with." Sarah instantly regretted mentioning Morgan's name. It was true that he maybe wasn't her favorite person. But she knew that Chuck missed him. He had been at the funeral, understandably devastated. Suddenly she felt guilty. Morgan had been denied the second chance that she had been given. Nobody should have to go through that. It had to be fixed. "I know that you miss him," she said softly. "We'll find a way to contact Morgan. I promise. He misses you too. We just have to be smart about it. In a few weeks, nobody will be paying any attention to him, or anyone in the Buy More."

Chuck nodded. "The TV can wait," he said. "I'll help you make the bed."

"Sweetie," Sarah sighed. "It's sweet that you want to help. And normally this would be a fun thing for us to do together. But this is your first day out of bed after nearly dying. I can see that you're in pain just looking at your face. Please do me a favor and rest here for a while. Maybe take one of the pain pills that Ellie left for you. Then spend some time checking out your new toy."

"I wish I had my games," Chuck said wistfully as he took the pill and bottle of water she was already holding out for him. As soon as he swallowed the pill, he sat down and picked up the remote. "I wonder if there is any way for Ellie to get Morgan to pack them up so she can bring them here. It's probably too risky."

Sarah smiled at him. "Check inside the table next to you."

When Chuck opened the door, he saw several brands of game consoles, all of his favorite games, and several new ones he previously couldn't afford.

Sarah laughed at the look of wonder on his face. "What?" she asked. "I bought this house for us to hide in. Do you really think I would ask you to spend months trapped in a house with no video games? You must really think that I'm a CIA monster. Your new computer, also picked out by Morgan, is in your office. I'm afraid that it's currently still in the boxes. I didn't want to mess it up, so I left it for you to figure out how to put it together. I can help you unpack and set it up sometime… tomorrow."

Chuck took full measure of her teasing. "You have been looking out for me all this time," he said. "I'm ashamed of myself for not recognizing it sooner. Buying this house was treason. I'm in awe. If I tell you how amazing you are, you're not going to start crying again, are you?"

That got them both laughing. "Very funny," Sarah said as she turned for the bedroom. "Let's get something straight. I'm going to temporarily overlook you playing a video game on our wedding night."

"But if it's still on after Ellie leaves, one of us is definitely going to be crying."

x-x-x-x-x

Ellie couldn't keep the soft smile off her face as she parked the car. Those two were just too darned cute. Seeing the look of pure contentment in their faces, actually hers more than his, made all of this drama worth it. Besides, she was about to finally spend the night with Devon, the sweetest guy in the world. This wasn't his war… but he had made it his… for one reason. No fiancé should ever have to listen to stories about his future wife going on seduction missions. Yet he went out of his way to be supportive. That's just the kind of man he was. And since she now officially traded her body for favors, almost anyway, there was really no reason not to use wild sex to reward Devon for his understanding. Fortunately, this was one situation where she didn't want Sarah to bail her out. She already knew how to rock Devon's world all on her own.

But first she had this stupid assignment to take care of. Hopefully her mark wouldn't notice the slutty dress she was wearing for Devon's benefit later. But that wasn't very likely. Any man would notice. She wished that Sarah was with her. Ellie understood why it was best, this time anyway, that she didn't know. But Sarah knew him a lot better than she did. Chuck had only brought him over a few times. He was always polite. She was never sure if he was checking her out or not, but admittedly she didn't have a strong sense for that kind of thing. She did know that he was hot, with a simply disarming smile that mesmerized you. There was nothing sinister. Ellie would never even think about cheating on Devon. But she'd also be lying if she said that she hadn't imagined what he would be like in the sack. Maybe when things calmed down a bit, after a couple of drinks, she could get her new sister to spill on some details. That might be a little fun.

He was once Chuck's friend, maybe his best friend besides Morgan. But that was before the betrayal. Chuck was a forgiving person, probably too much so. She wasn't sure where they stood now. Could their friendship be fixed? That was basically her assignment… to find out. Of course, Sarah hating his guts was a major obstacle that would have to be overcome. She really wanted to kill him… in some grotesquely painful way. Ellie could sure sympathize with that. But Dad was hopeful that it would work out. And getting him on board would solve a lot of problems.

Dad wasn't sure if he had active surveillance or not. With agents, you were never sure. So it was better if they assumed he did. He had coached her on exactly where to stand and how loud she could speak to avoid it. So she stood to the side, exactly where Dad had instructed, as she knocked on the door.

He took a long time to answer the door. Maybe he was entertaining someone. "Ellie?" he questioned.

Well, at least he recognized her. That was probably a good thing. "This may sound odd coming from me," Ellie said.

"But come with me right now, no questions asked, if you want to live."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck was lying on their new bed. "I think that I'm going to look for a new doctor," he complained sadly. "First, Ellie couldn't just drop off the groceries on our wedding night and leave? No, she has to spend an hour examining me. She gave me these pain pills. But the rat didn't warn me they would knock me out so hard. I feel so horrible. I ruined our wedding night."

Sarah came out of the bathroom wearing a plain yellow nightgown. "You have no need to feel horrible on my account," she said with a smile. "If anything, it's me that is cheating you. Classically, the wedding is all about the bride. You came through with the perfect romantic wedding for me. The wedding night is classically all about the groom. Besides, you didn't ruin anything. Maybe you need to give your doctor the benefit of the doubt. She did get you through being shot. Right now our main priority is to get you back to full strength. There will be plenty of other nights… and other mornings… and other afternoons… if you get my meaning."

Chuck yawned. "I still feel horrible," he said.

"I'll tell you what," Sarah said as she walked over to the closet. She took out a negligee hanging on a hanger and showed it to him. "I bought this when I bought the house. If I was going to be able to work up the nerve, it was supposed to be for our first night here… as a surprise."

Chuck did a stunned double take. "It sure would have been a surprise," he said with a smirk.

"I know," Sarah agreed. "At the time, it didn't occur to me that we'd be married. But maybe we can still make it a wedding night. We'll just wait until morning. I'll do my best to come through for you. Deal?"

That got Chuck smiling. "Deal," he responded quickly. "That looks expensive… which is ironic when you consider that you can see right through it."

Sarah replaced the negligee in the closet and climbed into bed with him. "It's very ironic," she agreed as she snuggled into him.

"It's even more ironic that I won't be wearing it very long."

x-x-x-x-x

"Sarah," Chuck moaned. "This is… um… this is so good. It's… so hot. You're… um… such an amazing wife. I don't think I've ever felt like this before. Did… um… did… um… did Carina teach you this?"

"Wow, Chuck," Sarah said, trying hard to contain her laughing. "Get a grip. It's just an omelet. It's supposed to be hot. I may not be Martha Stewart. But are you surprised that I can cook my husband an omelet? We have to keep you well fed. You're going to need all of your strength to survive our honeymoon. And, no, Carina most definitely didn't teach me how to cook. If the girl tried to boil water, she'd burn the house down."

"It's just so good," he said. He took the last bite and savored it for a while before swallowing." After a moment, he pushed away from the table to stand, facing her. His grin turned into the teasing variety. "I have to admit. The fact that you cooked it wearing only that skimpy apron made it taste much better. I'll bet that's even sexier than the fancy, invisible negligee. Martha Stewart couldn't come close to that. Do you think maybe you could do all of the cooking mostly dressed like this? I promise that I'll never be late for dinner."

All Sarah could do was laugh at his teasing. "You could have maybe told me this before I spent all of that money on the fancy, invisible negligee," she teased in faux frustration. "In fairness, you haven't seen me in the negligee yet. To answer your question, this kitchen is now unofficially clothing optional… the option is all yours."

"In that case, I exercise my option," Chuck teased. He reached behind her and playfully tugged at the strings tied behind her neck and waist. Quickly enough, gravity did its job and the apron slid to the floor.

Sarah didn't have much in the way of personal modesty. No spy did. If you were at all embarrassed about being naked in front of people when you entered the CIA Academy, you sure weren't if you were lucky enough to graduate. The instructors made very sure of that. They clearly enjoyed their work… intentionally made you practice stripping for them multiples times in training. If you were 'lucky' enough to draw Roan Montgomery as your instructor, it went even farther. Sarah had posed unashamedly, in various levels of undress many, many times over her spy career. So it was an odd feeling to feel the blush rising up her neck as he stood there and conspicuously checked her out from head to toe … odd maybe, but wonderful. This wasn't some mark. This was her husband. So she lowered her arms to her side, made sure there was a soft smile on her face, took the stance required in these situations, and just allowed him to look for as long as he wanted.

Chuck didn't stand there and gawk at her all that long. Quickly enough, they were kissing. "You're so beautiful," he whispered. "I'm sorry for staring. I feel like such a pig."

The truth was that Sarah had heard men tell her that she was beautiful so many times that she, frankly, tuned it out. They didn't really mean it. It was a standard line designed to charm her into bed. So why was she now blushing like a schoolgirl when the quarterback called her pretty? "You're not a pig, sweetie," she whispered back between kisses that were quickly growing in intensity. "As my husband, one of your basic rights is that you get to stare all you want. Whenever you want, just say the word, and I'll do my best to give you the best show possible. That would be fun for me. Watching you get aroused is a huge turn on. Do you want to take this to the bedroom?"

Chuck just shook his head. "That would take too long," he said. He put his hands on her waist and hoisted her onto the table. "I think we have to place our mark on every room of the house anyway. It's a moral imperative."

"We might as well start with the kitchen."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah was fully engaged in her new favorite activity. She was watching her husband sleep. He looked so peaceful… so perfect. Even though it was only early afternoon, she knew that he needed the pain pill, followed by the mandatory nap. She just couldn't help herself. So she leaned down to give him a quick kiss. She was a little surprised when he kissed back.

"I'm sorry that I faded on you," Chuck said groggily. "We only made it to two rooms. How many rooms does this house have anyway? Does the entranceway count as a separate room? Or is it part of the living room?"

"Well," Sarah said. "For purposes of this discussion, I think it's most definitely a separate room. You have no need to be sorry. You're still weak. Please stop pushing yourself so hard. Let me do more of the work, at least until you're stronger. Besides, we have the rest of our lives to place our 'mark' on all of the rooms. For what it's worth, your effort on the kitchen table was the unquestioned highlight of my life. It was so intense. I've never felt like that before, not even close. Just please, Chuck, please don't lift me up again until you're stronger. I would have gladly hopped up on that table."

That got Chuck's eyes to pop open. "Oh yeah," he agreed. "Mrs. Bartowski, you were definitely a wild thing. From now on, it's going to be hard to eat a meal at that table without the image of you squirming around on it popping into my head. Speaking of… isn't it lunch time?"

That got them both laughing. "It is lunch time," Sarah agreed. "Are we going for the table again? Let me prime the pump a little. If I just make us sandwiches, I won't even need the apron. Maybe I can put on a little show that might help… um, motivate you to eat faster."

"At least until you get tired of the view."

x-x-x-x-x

Ellie was able to keep her poker face intact until she was in the car. Finally, she could keep it in no longer. "You're disgusting," she said as she began giggling helplessly while leaning her head against the steering wheel. "Where did you get that dress?"

"What?" Sarah asked in faux innocence as soon as she could stop giggling herself. "I had to sell it, didn't I? Dressing provocatively is part of the deal. Besides, you're complaining? You got out of your third date with him, didn't you? I hate to be critical, but your new boyfriend is something of a perv. I like the old one a lot better. Did you see the look in his eyes as I was describing the show you and I were going to put on tomorrow? I doubt that he will be able to stand for a while. Something tells me that he is looking forward to tomorrow night a little too much. I almost feel sorry for him."

Ellie paused for a moment to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I'm not complaining," she said, still laughing. "Well, except that your description of tomorrow night's activities was very… well, descriptive. I'm not sure some of those things are even physically possible. Stand? The poor guy is changing his shorts as we speak. I don't feel sorry for him at all. Besides, you're the one who is going to die tomorrow."

Sarah got a little more serious. "About that," she said. "Are we sure that he's going to come through for us? I was his partner for a year. I loved working with him. We were a great team. But now that I know the truth, I have to tell you, I don't trust him at all. My instinct tells me to put a bullet between his eyes."

"Dad's confident," Ellie assured her new sister. "He really laid it on the line last night. Dad never leaves things like this to chance. He always has a contingency plan. If he tries to betray you again, Dad will have his ass. That will undoubtedly include you putting a bullet between his eyes."

Sarah seemed to consider that for a while. Orion knew what he was doing. Maybe it was time to trust him. So she grinned again. "Speaking of ass," she said playfully. "I'd be careful where I look when we get back if I was you. Chuck has designated several rooms in the house as clothing optional."

That got Ellie giggling again. "Oh lord," she was finally able to get out. "Chuck walking around the house naked? You must have made quite an impression. That doesn't sound like him at all."

"It's not," Sarah agreed. "It's actually my clothing that he deems optional."

That got them both giggling even harder. "That does sound like him," Ellie said. "So things are going well between you two?"

Sarah again got a little serious as she considered the question. "I've never been happier," she said. "I'm floating on a cloud. He's perfect, Ellie."

"Simply perfect."

x-x-x-x-x


	7. The Road to Redemption

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: This is still going to get dark. Not in a sex or adult situations way. The story will be pretty tame in that regard. But Beckman and Graham ordered a law abiding American citizen to be murdered… simply because he was an inconvenience for them. Casey seemed willing to execute the order. I don't see how the writers could possibly expect us to like or trust them after that._

 _So expect a serious war. Ellie, and especially Sarah, are pissed. They aren't going to take any prisoners. Neither is the CIA. There will be multiple character deaths._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I've been posting once a week. I think I'm going to have to dial that back a little to every other week._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **The Road to Redemption**

x-x-x-x-x

Agent Larkin was admittedly a little breathless when he bounced down the stairs into Castle. He had been looking all over the city for Sarah when the code red call came in. He knew her, knew how she thought, and especially knew the places where she would look to hide. That knowledge hadn't helped a bit. She had simply disappeared. It wasn't really surprising. She had to know that she was the subject of a CIA Priority One BOLO. That meant she couldn't show her face to a surveillance camera anywhere in the free world without being eventually discovered by the CIA's facial recognition software. Of course Sarah knew all that. It was frustrating. Agent Walker certainly knew full well that she was a target. She also had all of the skills. But Bryce was getting increasingly desperate. He was probably the only one who could talk her into surrendering.

Even if she surrendered, would they spare her life? Bryce wasn't sure. Graham was livid hearing about her going rogue. She knew the rules. To Graham, there was only one thing worse than betraying your duty… and it was betraying him. He considered it a personal affront… instantly made you his enemy. And he was a very bad enemy to have. You normally didn't become his enemy and live to tell about it.

But Sarah did have an unusual relationship with him. Even Bryce didn't know many details. You could hear in her voice, whenever she talked about him, that she had a ton of respect for him, considered him a mentor, maybe even a father figure. Then again, she probably understood that, just like a guppy, Graham was very willing to devour his offspring.

But Bryce had also listened at length to the way Graham talked about her, filled with, locker room style, sexual innuendo. One thing was for sure, Graham always knew exactly what would work to get her willingly naked. Did they ever have a sexual relationship? Maybe… he certainly talked as if he did have some personal experience… if he wasn't just bragging for his benefit. Under the right circumstances, Graham might give her a chance to get on her knees and repent.

Honestly, Bryce had several motives for trying to find her. And, no, his usual reward for saving her life wasn't high on the list. That was a long shot… at best. She had made it abundantly clear that probably was no longer in play. But, hey, you couldn't blame a guy for trying, right?

So that left his own career to think about. He wasn't going to get to leave for Washington until this mess was cleaned up. And that meant he wasn't going to be able to download the Intersect until Agent Walker was neutralized. That simply had to happen. He had milked being the only CIA contact with Orion for years. There was no more milk left in that particular carton.

Fortunately, he had planned ahead. He had used his leverage to hand pick his partner. Graham thought that it was to just to get laid regularly by one of the most beautiful women in the world. And, true, that part didn't suck, the off color irony was fully intended. Riding the workhorse that being partnered with the great Agent Walker represented kept him on top for a while. But now, even that was over. If he wanted to stay at the top of the CIA duty roster, with all of the glory assignments that came with that position, he needed that Intersect.

As soon as Bryce caught his breath, he faced the monitor where Graham and Beckman were waiting… not very patiently. "You wanted to see me?" he asked.

It was Beckman who answered. That wasn't unusual. She typically did most of the talking for that pair. "We have a situation," she said. "It seems that Agent Walker figured out that Major Casey killed Bartowski somehow. She went after him. They were both shot. He must have suspected she was going to try something because he turned his surveillance on."

Beckman put a video up on the screen. Bryce had only been there a few times, so it took a moment to realize that it was the courtyard in front of Casey's place. It didn't take nearly as long for him to recognize Sarah, especially from behind. Even in that unflattering black mission outfit, with a grainy, back and white surveillance feed, he would have been able to recognize that shapely form anywhere.

The encounter was short… but deadly. As soon as Casey opened the door, Sarah didn't give him any time to react. He was greeted with her trademark left foot to the side of the head. That was a very familiar move. Bryce had seen it on missions a hundred times. And like all the other recipients, Casey went down like a ton of bricks.

There wasn't much in the way of audio. Sarah was screaming obscenities at him. It never failed to amaze Bryce. Maybe she could look like an angel when she wanted too. But the curse words that would come out of her mouth when she was pissed sounded more like a sailor.

Sarah pulled out her weapon to finish the job. That was when she made her, perhaps fatal, mistake. She normally wouldn't have given an opponent an opening to recover from her left foot before she ended him. This was exactly why you were taught to keep your emotions out of the battle. Casey had time to pull out his gun. His shot hit Sarah directly in the chest. Bryce had seen scenes like that scores of times. Blood was flying everywhere. That shot was fatal. You could plainly see the blood spray from the exit wound. Before she collapsed, Sarah was able to get off a single shot that hit Casey in about the same location. Again, it was a kill shot.

That was pretty much the end. Both bodies remained motionless on the deck until the paramedics came screaming up, sirens blaring. But after a quick check for pulses, they slowed down. It was obvious from their body language that there was no real reason to hurry.

Bryce had mixed feelings watching them load Sarah's bloody body into the ambulance. He'd miss her. They had some good times. She was great for his career. When she wanted to be, which wasn't nearly often enough for his liking, she was the sexiest thing on two legs. But truthfully, whatever personal thing they had shared together ended the second she met Chuck. It hadn't been the same for a long time. And at least now he wouldn't have to try and talk her into surrendering. So things were almost wrapped up here. He barely heard Beckman's terse order to get his ass to the hospital and clean this mess up. Sarah was right, yesterday.

It was time to move on.

x-x-x-x-x

Bryce found himself shaking hands with Dr. Mike Simpson from the Medical Examiner's office for the second time in barely a month. "I think that I already know," Bryce said as he flashed his ID. "But we had two… um… personnel delivered here this morning. Can you give me a status?"

Simpson looked at the dashing CIA Agent. He probably had to beat the ladies off with a stick. Normally he would have envied a man like that to no end. But if this stud only knew how his night was going to go. "Both were DOA," he said. "I could do autopsies. But it would be pro forma. Both causes of death are pretty obvious. The blonde had an exit wound the size of a small grapefruit."

That made sense. With that cannon that Casey carried around, if he shot you, you were suddenly missing body parts. Bryce looked at his watch. If he could make it to LAX by noon, he could still make it to Washington in time to be an Intersect today. "That won't be necessary," he said. "This is a national security situation. We'd like this cleared up as soon as possible."

"I'll have them cremated today," Simpson said. "What do you want done with the remains?"

Bryce was already half way out the door. "Neither has any family," he said. "Just dispose of them."

And just like that, he was gone. As soon as he was out of sight, Ellie popped out of her hiding spot. "Emotional bastard," she muttered sarcastically under her breath. She immediately went to the drawer where Sarah's body was and pulled it open. Ellie knew Simpson well enough to know that Sarah would be naked. So she had a sheet ready to cover her. As soon as the drawer was open, she plunged the hypo into Sarah's arm.

It took Sarah a few minutes before her chest started to show that she was breathing on her own. When her eyes finally popped open, Ellie was lovingly taking her pulse. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

Sarah considered the question for a moment. "I feel a little numb," she finally answered. "It's cold in here."

"That's to be expected," Ellie comforted. "The drug slowed your metabolism to almost nothing. You'll feel a lot better in a few minutes. They always keep it cold in here."

Sarah grabbed Ellie's hand. "Did it work?" she asked. "Did he buy it?"

Ellie thought for a second about telling Sarah about Bryce's stunning lack of emotion. But what good would that do? She already hated him anyway. "It worked perfectly," she said. "Mike is faxing your death certificate to them as we speak. Why don't you get dressed before he comes back and I'll work on John here?"

"Creepy bastard took my clothes off," Sarah grumbled. "If I wasn't already going to kill him tonight…"

"Did you really expect anything else from this guy after your performance last night?" Ellie asked, fighting back the laugh. "And in fairness, he had too. If Bryce would have wanted to see the body… I will admit, the man sometimes enjoys his work a little too much. Maybe that's something we won't tell Chuck about."

"I don't hide things from Chuck," Sarah said with a yawn as she stretched her arms. "That's over… not ever again. Besides, knowing Casey, he'll find a way to tell him anyway… just for fun."

"Oh my God," Sarah gasped as Ellie pulled Casey's drawer open. "He's naked too."

"Could this day get any worse?"

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah was out of the car and had slammed the door before Ellie even had a chance to come to a complete stop. To say that the ride had been tense was ridiculous understatement. Okay, so Casey was now part of the team. That sure didn't mean she had to pretend that all was forgiven. She hadn't said a single word in the car. She left it to Ellie to explain the situation. But Sarah had perfected her non-verbal communications skills. So her smoldering blue eyes boring holes through him, much like a laser would bore through solid steel, probably told him everything he needed to know about her mood.

If Sarah had been paying any attention, she would have realized, from Ellie's briefing, that their situation was a lot more complex than she had previously realized. And she made a mental note to pull her sister aside and talk through the details as soon as they could get some time alone. But for now, Sarah was far too angry to deal with it.

Chuck greeted her at the door. "Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

Sarah saw the look on his face and realized what he was thinking. Her body language probably wasn't hard to decipher as she stormed into the house. He was worried about her. Why should she be surprised? This was Chuck. Being all sweet was simply his nature. It quickly changed her mood. So she smiled at him. "I'm fine, Chuck," she assured him. "Don't worry. It went just as we planned. Sarah Walker is officially dead."

Suddenly they were kissing. "In that case," Chuck said with a grin, as he reached for the hem of Sarah's shirt and pulled it over her head before she could react. "It's time to resume our unofficial honeymoon. You said that this entranceway is a separate room. We're already standing here. It seems like fate."

They were kissing again. Sarah was going to warn him. She really was. But the feel of his tongue seeking hers as he fumbled with the clasp to her bra had instantly driven everything else from her mind.

"You guys are completely out of control."

When Chuck broke the make out session in horror, Sarah could see her sister standing there in the open doorway with her hands on her hips.

"Seriously?" Ellie asked in faux annoyance. "Nobody has more respect for the romance of this situation than I do. I think it's possibly the sweetest story I've ever heard. But, come on. Do you really think that I want to constantly see you two going at it? You couldn't possibly keep it in your pants for ten freaking minutes until I'm gone?"

Sarah looked past Ellie to where Casey was standing, a look of confused horror on his face. "Oh yeah," she said sarcastically, making zero effort to hide the fact that her bra was now hanging loosely from her shoulders, almost daring him to sneak a peak. "In your briefing in the car, there are some things that your new doctor friend didn't tell you. Chuck and I got married two days ago. We're currently on our honeymoon." She swept her hand in a wide semicircle. "We're on a mission to make love, at least once, in every room. Currently, it looks like he's about ready to scratch the entranceway off his list. I fully approve of his plan. So unless you want a real good look at my incredible new husband's ass as he makes me forget my own name, I'd keep my own ass in the basement if I was you."

Chuck finally found his voice. "Casey's staying with us?" he asked. "Nobody said anything about that."

That got Ellie laughing. "I'm sorry, sweetie," she said. "But where else would he stay? I'm sure he'll stay in the basement, out of your way, as much as he can."

Sarah was still on her rant directed at Casey. "One more bit of fair warning," she said angrily. "Orion says that he trusts you. Okay, so I trust him. On the other hand, you have some serious work to do before I'll ever be able to trust you again. Until that time, I'd keep your testicles out of range of the pissed off blonde's big toe at all times unless you're looking forward to spending some serious time in the bathroom giving up your lunch. That would be quite enjoyable for me to listen to. If you don't think I'm serious, you're even dumber than you look. I'm just saying."

Chuck shook his head sadly as he surveyed the scene. "Casey's staying with us," he muttered, more to himself than anyone. "On our honeymoon. I have to admit, I didn't see that one coming." He turned back to Sarah. "I think that I've changed my mind," he said sadly with a smirk.

"You can shoot him now."

x-x-x-x-x

"Are you sure this won't show up in an autopsy?"

Ellie and Sarah were sitting in the dark car outside Simpson's house. "I'm very sure," Sarah responded. "The CIA uses this drug all the time. Two drops in your drink, you gradually go to sleep and never wake up. He was so eager to get his disgusting reward that he barely tasted the champagne while he was chugging it. They'll find his body in a couple of days when he stops showing up for work. The autopsy will show no trace. The cause of death will be documented as a massive heart attack."

"I feel guilty," Ellie said sadly.

"I know," Sarah continued reassuringly. "But there is no reason to feel guilty. This is war. We just tied up our last loose end. He was the only person outside of our team who knows that Chuck, Casey, and I are still alive. Don't forget, he was blackmailing you looking for sex. If anyone had this coming, it was this creep."

"You didn't let me finish," Ellie insisted. "I feel guilty because I don't feel all that guilty. Maybe I'm losing my innocence."

Sarah and Ellie shared a grin. "Maybe," Sarah said. "Speaking of our war, can you fill me in on some details? I heard you tell Casey some things that I didn't know."

"Sure," Ellie replied. "It's probably best that we have this discussion without Chuck anyway. Even he doesn't know all of the details. It's going to affect him. He's pretty sensitive. You're going to have to break them to him delicately."

Sarah nodded. "Okay," she said. "I can do that."

"But before we get into all of the depressing stuff," Ellie said as her grin widened. "I'm putting my foot down. You're simply going to have to spill on some personal details for your new sister here. I'm dying to know. John is so hot. You have to tell me what he's like in bed."

Suddenly all thoughts of war were driven from Sarah's mind. She could only stare at Ellie in stunned silence. "Ellie," she was finally able to say. "What in the world leads you to believe that I would know what John Casey is like in bed?"

"You've known him for ten years," Ellie insisted playfully. "You have to admit, he's incredibly hot. I don't understand much about being a spy. But I can picture it. You're all alone undercover in some dark, hot, exotic place. Neither of you has had sex in so long that you've almost forgotten how. One thing leads to another. Suddenly you feel his hand sliding inside of your bra? It feels like… wow. After that… well I'm sure you know the rest. Come on, sweetie, are you really telling me that he's never put the moves on you?"

Again, Sarah could only stare at Ellie in stunned silence. "Ewww," she was finally able to say. "Do you really think that he's hot? Ellie, please. Tell me that I don't have to worry about you with him."

That got Ellie laughing. "Of course not," she said. "I would never dream of cheating on Devon. But, I do notice that he's an attractive man. There's nothing wrong with that, is there? Come on, Sarah. Are you trying to say that you've never noticed that he is an attractive man?"

"Ewww," Sarah repeated. "I think that I desperately need a drink. I also think that you desperately need to get laid."

That got Ellie laughing even harder. "Okay," she conceded. "I'll drop it. Um, about the getting laid part… Devon took care of that last night… multiple times. He was in rare form. Do you want me to spill any details to my new sister? That's fair. I will."

"No, thank you," Sarah said gratefully. "Maybe the details can wait under after I've had that drink… and about ten more."

"Fair enough," Ellie said as she got more serious. "You wanted to know details about the war. You have probably already figured out that Dad has been playing the CIA and Fulcrum against each other for the past twenty years. If either one won, it would be a disaster. The victor would be free to turn their full attention to finding Orion. So whenever one would gain an advantage, he would secretly help the other. He's been waiting for an opening to take them both down at the same time."

Sarah nodded. It was a brilliant strategy.

"What you don't know is that there is a third front," Ellie continued. "Have you ever heard of Alexei Volkoff?"

Sarah nodded. "Of course," she said. Volkoff was almost as famous in spy circles as Orion… except everyone accepted that Volkoff was real. He was a Russian arms dealer. He had used the breakup of the Soviet Union to become one of the richest people in the world. The CIA hated him… and he hated them right back. The CIA brass would love to find a way to neutralize him. Unfortunately, he lived in a military style fortress just outside Moscow that was protected by a huge, well trained and well armed, private security force. The only way to get to him would be by attacking with a huge force, acting in open war, far inside of Russia. It would be equivalent to declaring war. There is no way to do that without risking a nuclear response. So that meant Alexei Volkoff was untouchable… and everyone knew it. He took every possible opportunity to flaunt that in the CIA's face. It made them hate him even more. "What does he have to do with this?"

"He also has world domination as one of his career goals," Ellie replied. "He thinks having an Intersect of his very own would be a path. He's probably right about that. But that's not the part that is going to mess Chuck up. We have Volkoff neutralized, for now anyway."

"Okay," Sarah said. "So what is the part that is going to mess him up?"

"Our mom and dad," Ellie said sadly.

"Their story isn't a happy one."

x-x-x-x-x


	8. Priorities

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: This is still going to get dark. Not in a sex or adult situations way. The story will be pretty tame in that regard. But Beckman and Graham ordered a law abiding American citizen to be murdered… simply because he was an inconvenience for them. Casey seemed willing to execute the order. I don't see how the writers could possibly expect us to like or trust them after that._

 _So expect a serious war. Ellie, and especially Sarah, are pissed. They aren't going to take any prisoners. Neither is the CIA. There will be multiple character deaths._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **Priorities**

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck cautiously climbed down the stairs. It had been one hell of a second full day in his new home. He hadn't even been in the basement yet. Based upon recent events, he and Sarah wouldn't be placing their 'mark' down here anytime soon. But once he made it down the stairs he discovered that it was actually very, very nice. Sarah had plainly spent a fair amount of time preparing this house specifically for him. It was one of those things she must have been doing at the same time she was telling him they couldn't be together. Chuck smiled as that explained a lot of things he had always been confused about her.

She had turned the basement into a recreation room, complete with a bar, dart board, and pool table. Casey was sitting on the sofa watching TV. "I brought you a sandwich," Chuck said. "You must be hungry." It was a pretty safe bet. Casey was almost always hungry, especially given that Sarah was pretty obviously punishing him by not giving him much to eat.

Chuck had learned a lot of things about Sarah over the past year. One of the key things was how to deal with her when she was pissed off… mainly that you couldn't. Once she was angry at you, the only way out of it was to stay out of her way until she got over it. Sometimes that only took a few minutes. But sometimes it took days. There was really no way to hurry that… it was usually counterproductive and just plain foolish to try.

Sarah was pissed at Casey. Actually, she was really, really pissed at him. Casey had already figured that out so was camped in the basement. She said that she didn't trust him. Okay, but she left on her mission to 'tie up the loose ends' with Ellie leaving the two guys alone. She trusted him… a little anyway.

But after being married for a little over a day, Chuck was also forced to admit that there were tons of things that he didn't know about her… and never would have guessed. As it turned out, the omelet wasn't an aberration. Sarah loved to cook. She had told him that it was one of those things about being a normal person that she really missed. Combining being a newlywed and a domestic wife turned out to be easy. Whenever Chuck tried to help Ellie in the kitchen, they always found themselves in each other's way, she quickly got frustrated, and shooed him away. Chuck and Sarah cooked that meal as if they had been doing it together for years. It was fun for both of them, almost like they were dancing. Of course, it didn't hurt that she playfully teased him by cooking dressed only in her sexy apron, which really hid nothing. Who was Chuck to object? There was also the long make out session while the pasta was boiling. Who said that cooking had to be a chore?

They made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. Sarah said it was her mom's recipe and one of her favorites when she was growing up. So apparently Sarah had both a mom and a dad. The only thing he could get out of her, without pressing, was that they weren't together… and hadn't been for a long time. Chuck could hear in her voice that she missed them both a ton. Chuck wanted desperately to ask her more about them but wisely let it slide. There would be plenty of time to talk about those things later. Not only was the meal amazingly tasty, the leftovers were perfect for a meatball sub.

Normally, Casey would have played a little gruff in this situation. He had already taken a ton of crap from Sarah today. And he had his own future to consider. After having faked his death this morning, he was no longer an agent. He was now a civilian. But he was a starving civilian. So he accepted the food gratefully. Chuck had two cans of beer. He sat one on the coffee table in front of Casey and popped open the other one as he plopped down on the couch next to him.

Naturally, the first few minutes were a tad awkward. Casey kept his mouth fairly full. Chuck pretended to watch the baseball game that was on the TV until Casey finished eating. Then he jumped to his feet.

"Let's play a game of pool."

x-x-x-x-x

Ellie and Sarah sat in the front seat of the car in the dark. "I'm trying to stay calm here," Sarah said. "I'm sorry to hear about your mom. But, Ellie, I gotta tell you, I'm not liking this idea. Are you sure that it's even safe?"

"It's as safe as we can possibly make it," Ellie said. "I've gone over this as many ways as I possibly could. I'm convinced it will work. I wouldn't risk Chuck's health any more than you would. I'm actually surprised that you are this calm. Thank you for that."

Sarah smiled. "I'm not calm," she said. "I'm faking it. I'm worried about Chuck. But I'm just as worried about you. Ellie, I don't think you totally understand what you're getting into here. These people play for keeps. They are not above capturing Devon and using him against you. If they ever captured you, it would be horrible. Men, they just kill. Women…"

"You may be right," Ellie said softly. "I may not completely understand the danger. But I think I do understand what is at stake. I'm not looking forward to being gang-raped to death like you just implied. But how could I possibly stand by and do nothing knowing what I now know?"

Sarah just nodded. "You talked about skills," she said, more to change the subject than anything. "What skills would he have?"

"Name it," Ellie said. "Anything that a human could learn to do, Chuck will instantly be able to do. Once he learns to control it, he could speak any language, execute any fighting move, perform brain surgery, fly the space shuttle… anything. Not only that, the Intersect will be in direct control of his reactions. He won't have to think about reacting like a normal person would. Nobody could hope to fight him. He'll be far quicker than any human. He'll be a superman… well, he won't be able to fly or have x-ray vision… but you know what I mean."

"What about side effects?" Sarah asked.

"We don't think there will be any physical side effects," Ellie assured. "But I suppose it's possible that he might be affected psychologically. Anyone with that much power might come to enjoy it a bit too much. But, Sarah, this is Chuck we're talking about. I can't see him becoming some arrogant, macho…"

"Bryce Larkin?" Sarah finished her statement sadly. "That's what you were going to say."

"We'll keep a close eye on him," Ellie said. "Sarah, imagine the weapon he could be. He'd be unstoppable. This is the break we've been waiting for. If Chuck becomes Intersect 2.0, we could take them all on… and win. That's why I'm talking to you now. Let's face it, Sarah. You're the one who is really making this decision. If you say 'no', Chuck would never do it."

Sarah had to pause for a long moment to gather her composure. "I want to do the right thing," she said, trying in vain to keep her voice from breaking. "I agree with you. I've been fighting that same fight for ten years. But, Ellie, I don't think that you understand what you're asking of me. I can't go back to the way it was. He's perfect just as he is. We've only been together for two days."

"Please don't ask me to watch him change into Bryce Larkin before my very eyes."

x-x-x-x-x

"I don't believe this. How can you possibly keep winning?"

"Well, big guy," Chuck teased as he lined up a shot. "You're unquestionably a better athlete than I am. You're bigger, stronger, faster, all of that. The thing is, pool is not really an athletic sport. It's actually all about angles and force, things like geometry and physics. I minored in Math at Stanford. I should be good at it. I can't wait to get Sarah down here. If you could be a pal and make yourself scare for a while, I could probably hustle her out of some or all of her clothes."

"Yeah," Casey said with a grunt. "You didn't seem to be doing badly on that front all on your own. She said that you got married. When in the hell did you have time to do that?"

"We're not legally married," Chuck said as he pocketed his shot and walked around the table to line up his next one. "We didn't have time for that. So we said our vows to each other. She said that she didn't want to waste a single second. So in a twisted kind of way, I suppose that I should thank you for that."

He immediately saw that he had probably said the wrong thing judging by the red climbing Casey's neck and into his face. "You're probably right," Chuck said, to break the tension more than anything. "She'd eagerly take off her clothes whenever I asked. But wouldn't winning them from her, a single article at a time, be so much more fun? She's pretty competitive."

If Chuck was trying to break the tension in the room, well, he succeeded admirably. Casey started laughing. "I'd dial down the cockiness a little if I was you," he warned. "Okay, so she's different now. I could see it start in the first week we were together. I called her on it many times. I knew she was smitten, but in my wildest dreams, I never thought that Agent Walker would let it get this far. She knew better. You don't know the Agent Walker that I knew before meeting you. She was the hardest of hard asses. Saying that she wasn't very fun to be around is understatement. Unless it was required for the mission, she never cracked a smile. She was Graham's personal enforcer. There is a line of super spies, oil billionaires, and princes stretching from here to Minsk who have all taken their best shot at her, only to taste abject humiliation. And she settles down to become a housewife with Chuck Bartowski? If I hadn't watched it happen with my own eyes over this past year, I would never have believed it. So you can do whatever you want. I would just suggest that you be a little wary. To me, Walker is sort of like a trained tiger. She's graceful, powerful, perfectly chiseled, and most definitely beautiful… and a force of nature at its very finest. She may even look tame most of the time. She'll purr at night and rub up against you like she's a house cat. But you'll inevitably make the wrong move one day at the wrong time and you'll suddenly find yourself missing an arm."

"I'm just saying."

x-x-x-x-x

As soon as Ellie dropped Sarah back off at the house, she went looking for Chuck. At first, she couldn't find him. She was just starting to get concerned when she heard the unmistakable sound of billiard balls colliding coming from the basement. She couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but what she heard definitely sounded like the voices of two friends having a good time.

Sarah had to stand there for a long moment, blinking tears from her eyes. This was exactly what she was trying to tell Ellie. That was her Chuck. That was her guy, her amazing other half at his very finest. He had every right to hate Casey. The man had tried to kill him, and almost succeeded. But he saw through the agent following orders. He had empathy for his predicament. And he forgave his friend… probably far too quickly. It was today's reminder of what she already knew. He was the nicest guy in the world… and she was so, so, so lucky to have him.

The down side of that was she also knew that they lived in a dangerous world… a world where being a nice guy or being too trusting would cost you. If they went forward with this family war, their enemies were ruthless, ambitious, and cunning. They also had the advantage of not being encumbered by silly notions such as morals… or being nice. Chuck didn't see it. Maybe that wasn't totally accurate. He saw it. He just refused to let it affect the way he lived. It was his blind spot… but it also made him perfect. So that was her role… to protect him from that blind spot. It was a role that she would take with deadly seriousness. She had failed him once. It would never happen again.

And of course, Sarah understood full well that she had her own blind spot… and that Chuck worked every bit as hard to protect her from it. It was what made them such an amazing couple. Separately they both had serious flaws, flaws that their enemies could exploit, flaws that ultimately could become fatal. They filled in each other's cracks perfectly. Together they were unstoppable.

Tonight it was her turn to step up. They were about to have a very serious discussion. Ellie was right. The news about his mom would devastate him. Their situation was far more complex than either of them had realized. They had some decisions to make that would affect their future… how they would live their lives… raise their family. Even if they decided to fight, the path to victory was fuzzy at best. But she also knew, with zero hesitation, that they would get through it. Together, they could face anything.

Agent Walker had always protected him physically. He was her asset. That was her duty. But Agent Walker was gone, officially dead. Sarah Bartowski was now his wife. Now it was her duty to protect him emotionally as well as physically. Maybe being a wife was unchartered territory… but she wouldn't fail him there either.

She'd make sure of it.

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck was just getting ready to take his next shot.

"Chuck?" Sarah called down the stairs. "Are you alright? The bastard hasn't shot you again, has he?"

That got them both snickering at her less than subtle shot directed at their new houseguest. "She's never going to let that go," Casey said. "Is she?"

"I'll be right up," Chuck called up the stairs.

"She's been betrayed by everyone she's ever trusted," Chuck said calmly. "She's hurt… confused. Give her some time. Maybe stay out of her way for a few days. I'll talk to her."

Casey nodded. "You'd better get up there," he said. "Remember what I said about the tiger that might look tame."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," Chuck said.

"Bartowski," Casey said… so softly that Chuck, who was half way up the stairs, had to strain to hear him. "Thanks."

"For what it's worth, I'm glad that you're alive."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah was waiting for Chuck in the kitchen with a silly grin on her face. "That's quite a dress," he said, matching her grin. "I assume that, at least, the perv died happy. Was Ellie showing him this much cleavage? I'll bet that one more button and you come plopping right out."

Sarah could only stand and watch as he reached out and unbuttoned the top button… then the second… and finally the last one. "Hey," she protested. "I thought that the bet was for just one button."

"It was," Chuck agreed. He reached over and pulled the dress off her arms. It fell to the floor. "As the official judge, I'm afraid you lost. The bet was for your clothes. You probably should have inquired about the stakes before you implicitly agreed. Yes, I know it makes me a jealous husband, but I'm not wild about seeing you in such a revealing dress. It's better off on the floor. And while we're having this discussion, I thought we agreed that you weren't going to wear panties anymore? Come to think of it, isn't this a clothing optional room anyway? You're flagrantly flouting the house rules."

Sarah couldn't have answered his teasing, even if she had a witty answer ready. They were kissing. It was… amazing. But Sarah also knew that if she didn't pause this now, the rest of the night would be spent finding other rooms to 'mark.' Chuck was already tugging at the waistband of her panties. She reluctantly broke the kiss. "We need to talk," she said.

Chuck wouldn't be Chuck if he hadn't misinterpreted her meaning. "I'm overdoing the sex thing," he said sadly. "I'm sorry. I just… I mean… you're so beautiful. I get that you're probably tired of guys treating you like that. I'm sorry. I'll stop."

Sarah looked at the devastated look on his face. It pissed her off. No one had the right to hurt him like this… not even her. So she placed her hands on the sides of his face and forced him to meet her eyes. "Look at me," she said firmly. "Chuck, clear your mind, look into my eyes, and know how serious I'm being. I'm putting my foot down. You're not stopping. In fact, you are never to think anything like that again. Do you understand? Never, ever. You're not some 'guy.' You're my husband. I love you. It's impossible for you to overdo any sex thing. For the rest of our lives, feel free to get me naked any time you feel like it. Or just say the word and I'll get myself naked in some exciting way. You taking the lead in our sex life has been a wonderful surprise for me. I thought that I would have to do most of the seducing. I'm very sorry if I just made it sound like I was rejecting you. That couldn't be farther from the truth. It's just that we have some important things to talk about. I found out some things from Ellie tonight."

"Please don't be mad at me," Chuck said. "You're not the only one who is getting used to being married. I need to get a handle on this husband thing. I know that I'm far too sensitive. I'm trying to get used to the feeling of being able to make a pass at the most beautiful woman in the world and not get laughed at, at best. That makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. I get that a marriage is about more than sex. If I'm making you feel that sex is all that I love about you, I'm sorry."

"I'm not mad at you," Sarah quickly insisted. "Not at all. I get that it probably sounds like it. I'm sorry about that. I'm just a little freaked out after talking to Ellie. I guess it's also that I'm a little frustrated with myself for pushing you away for so long… for wasting so much time. I get that you may be currently experiencing a little whiplash. That's my fault. But I'm not mad. For one thing, you haven't done a single thing wrong. You've been perfect. Sweetie, for all of our problems, I'm on cloud nine. There isn't a thing I'd change about you or our marriage. All I'm trying to do is let you know that it's impossible for you to be too aggressive physically. Whatever you can think of, bring it."

That got them laughing. "I think we're going to remember this conversation," Chuck said. "You said that you have some information that we need to talk about, but maybe you need to get dressed. Otherwise I don't think I can pay attention to what you're saying. Putting the dress back on that you were wearing isn't going to help much either… if you know what I mean."

"I do know what you mean," Sarah said, still laughing. "Thank you for that." She pressed her lips to his for an urgent kiss. "You know what?" she asked. "Ellie's news can wait until morning. This is our honeymoon. We have a job to do. There are still five rooms on the main floor that haven't been marked yet. If you thought that you were going to get a break, think again, mister. You're definitely going to need to pick up the pace."

"Are you sure?" Chuck asked. "I don't want you to be freaked out."

"I'm very sure," Sarah said. "I messed up. We're on our honeymoon… probably the only one we're going to get for a while. Our problems will still be there in the morning. I forgot my priorities as a wife for a second. That's completely unacceptable. I have to do something to make up for it. I have to apologize for letting you think I was mad. Then there is the 'thanking you for calling me beautiful' thing. I also think maybe I need to carry my share of the load with this seduction thing. So, all in all, I have some work to do. If you would be so kind as to lead me into your office, maybe I can put your new computer chair to good use."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah was getting a glass of water. Tonight had been amazing. Now it was almost morning. Chuck was clearly getting stronger every day. But after such a workout, he still needed his rest. He didn't want to take the pain pill. She had to get a little, um, insistent. After he gave in, he was quickly snoring.

"I should have told you."

All Sarah could see was Casey's vague form in the dark kitchen. Fortunately, she had put back on her plain yellow nightgown. That wasn't exactly chaste, but it sure beat the birthday suit she had been wearing a few minutes ago. Even though it was pretty dark, he didn't need any awkward visual… at least not without Chuck present. It might be fun to torment Casey with some nudity sometime later. But Chuck would have to be on board. All she could do was to stare at him.

"Look," Casey said. "Walker, I was a lousy partner. I should have told you. I followed an illegal and immoral order. I'm ashamed of myself. I can blame the bosses, but I know better. I'm sorry if you feel that I betrayed you. That's something I take seriously. For what it's worth, it will never happen again."

Sarah turned so he wouldn't see her smile. She wasn't quite ready to let him totally off the hook. But she was probably past wanting to kick him in the testicles. Chuck was clearly rubbing off on her. Actually, she was pretty impressed. Men like Casey didn't apologize. That must have been very hard for him. He was already retreating down the stairs. So maybe it was time to let him off the hook… a little. She made no effort to keep the teasing smile from her voice. "Casey," Sarah said softly. "My name is no longer Walker. She's dead. My new name is Sarah Bartowski."

"You can call me Mrs. Bartowski."

x-x-x-x-x


	9. Second Generation Rebels

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: This is still going to get dark. Not in a sex or adult situations way. The story will be pretty tame in that regard. But Beckman and Graham ordered a law abiding American citizen to be murdered… simply because he was an inconvenience for them. I don't see how the writers could possibly expect us to like or trust them after that._

 _So expect a serious war. Ellie, and especially Sarah, are pissed. They aren't going to take any prisoners. Neither is the CIA. There will be multiple character deaths._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **Second Generation Rebels**

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah was fully engaged in her new favorite activity, well… maybe her second favorite activity. She was watching her husband sleep as the morning sun began to light up the room. He looked so innocent when he was sleeping… so perfect. She couldn't help herself. She leaned over to place a soft kiss on his lips as he slept.

Except that Chuck wasn't exactly sleeping. He didn't open his eyes. He didn't even fully move his lips. "You're joking, right?" he mumbled. "Don't you ever take a break? You're insatiable. You're trying to kill me here. I know what this is. I just figured it out. You still think you're with the CIA. You're executing the termination order just like Casey. You're just using different tactics."

Sarah snuggled into him, giggling helplessly. "It was only five times," she teased. "Okay, so maybe I am insatiable. Deal with it. Come on, Mr. Bartowski. It's time to suck it up. If you take that literally, I probably won't complain. Not that I'm keeping score or anything, but after my effort last night on your computer chair, it seems more than fair. Putting our mark on all of the rooms was your idea. We still have some work to do. What about all that 'most beautiful woman in the world' stuff you're always telling me? Whatever happened to that kid in a candy store?"

"He developed a massive tummy ache," Chuck groaned, with his eyes still closed. "It was probably poor planning when we put multiple marks on the same room. At this rate, we're never going to be done. I'm very willing to even the score that you're 'not keeping track of.' But I'm afraid that any further 'work' is going to have to wait for a while. If you want me to 'suck it up', either literally or figuratively, come and see me sometime tonight."

Sarah was still giggling helplessly. "Let this be a learning opportunity," she said. "I'm pretty sure that I could seduce you as many times in a row as I choose, including right now if I wanted to badly enough. Don't make me prove it. I'm more than willing to allow you to take the lead in our sex life. That's been massively exciting for me. But I hope you consider this conversation in the future whenever you're tempted to challenge me by feeling guilty… about anything involving our sex life, really… but especially because you think that you might be overdoing it. That's silly. Hopefully, we now both agree that you overdoing it is like division by zero… simply impossible."

"Yes, ma'am," Chuck sighed. "Your point has been made… very clearly. It was a very nice try with the math metaphor. Say that again to me tonight and see what happens. But I'm still too exhausted right now. For the record, you are the most beautiful woman in the world. I get that you hear that a lot from men trying to charm you. But it's not 'stuff'. I honestly think so."

"Why, Mr. Bartowski," Sarah said. "That was sweet. Thank you. I have to tell you, if you're trying to talk me out of any additional seduction attempt this morning, I'm afraid that you're going in the wrong direction. Technically, that was actually a math simile. Either way, I have lots more already lined up."

Chuck finally opened his eyes. "Changing the subject," he said. "Can I ask you a serious question?"

Sarah took note of the seriousness in his voice and stopped giggling. "Of course," she said.

"What did Ellie say last night that freaked you out so much? You don't get freaked out easily."

Sarah could only stare at him for a long moment. She had put off this conversation for as long as she possibly could. "Our family war," she finally said. "It's a lot more complicated than you realize. Serious sacrifices have been made… will continue to be required. You know all about Fulcrum and the CIA. What do you know about Alexei Volkoff?"

"The Russian dude?" Chuck scoffed. "He seems like the least of our worries. Doesn't Mom have him under control?"

Sarah paused for a long moment thinking about how to tell him. "I've never been on a long term seduction mission," she finally said. "I've never slept with anyone on an assignment. I've only practiced some of the techniques in training. Once I graduated, Graham knew that I was uncomfortable and didn't want to do that. At first he protected me. Quickly I moved high enough on the CIA pecking order all on my own so that I could always get out of those types of assignments. But Carina has."

"Carina?" Chuck moaned in disgust. "What does she have to do with this?"

Sarah smiled in spite of the tense situation. "You don't know Carina," she said. "She's never allowed you to know her. She doesn't allow many people to know her. All you've ever seen is the stone cold bitch spy mask she constantly wears. So I get that you don't like her. I promise, once you get to know her, you're going to like her. What Morgan is to you, Carina is every bit as important to me. They both currently think we're dead. We have to fix that."

"Maybe we should fix them up," Chuck said sarcastically. "Morgan needs to get laid. Carina appears to be an expert."

That got Sarah giggling again. "Trust me," she said. "Carina Miller and Morgan Grimes are the last two people on earth who would ever hook up."

"She tried to seduce me," Chuck insisted. "She said that she enjoyed taking things that you wanted. That doesn't sound like a friend to me. I don't think that Morgan would try and seduce you."

"You don't get spies," Sarah said sadly. "You never have. We'll need to have a serious discussion about this in more detail later. Spies think of sex differently than you or Morgan do. As a spy, we're taught that a man wanting to sleep with you is your most powerful weapon. If Morgan tried to seduce me, he would be betraying you. Of course he wouldn't ever do that… and good luck if he tried. Carina is different. She wasn't betraying me, doesn't even think about it in those terms. She was just using sex to try and find out what our real relationship was… if you would sleep with her. I have to say, at the time, I wouldn't have blamed you if you did. But I'm very happy and proud that you didn't. Yes, for a non-spy, Carina's actions were unacceptable. Believe me, her and I are going to have a discussion soon so that she is very clear of the distinction. As that discussion concludes, you're going to get to watch me seriously kick her ass. It won't be the first time. You'll probably enjoy that as much as I will."

"I don't believe things are that different," Chuck protested. "You're a spy. You're not like that."

"Chuck," Sarah said pointedly. "This is part of what you don't get. I need you to open your mind and hear me clearly. I was once exactly like that. I'm not any more. And I'm happy about that. I don't want to be ever again. You don't get how much you've changed me. I know that, given last night, this might be hard to believe. It's different with you… night and day. Before you, sex was never that important to me. It was a weapon… a currency… a reward… at very best, a feel good release when you were in the right mood. I know you don't want to think about me in those terms. I'm not proud of some of the things I've done either. I'm not eager to rub your face in this. But that's who you married. We need to face that unpleasant history… soon."

"Okay," Chuck replied. "I understand. For the record, I love who I married. I wouldn't change a thing about who you are, or who you were. I'm sorry that if it sounded that way. Trust me. We can talk. All of that history, no matter how unpleasant it is, is history. No matter what happened, you don't have to be afraid to tell me about it. I promise. Let's get back to the point. What about Carina?"

"She was assigned to infiltrate a drug cartel," Sarah said. "It was a tough assignment for a young agent. Drug runners are not the kind of people who are trusting of outsiders. So she had to seduce one of the main family members. It took nine months. She actually had to marry this guy. The CIA psyche guys called her in before the assignment. They told her to be careful. They said that in long term seduction missions, there was a common danger. It is very similar to the Stockholm syndrome. The mission required far more than just sex. Blowing your cover meant being tortured to death in some horrible and demeaning way. To pull off that kind of assignment, to convince someone over a long period of time that you were in love with them, you had to mentally assume that role. Over time, the agent would often develop genuine feelings for the mark."

Chuck nodded. "I can see that," he said. "That's why seduction missions don't make sense to me. How could they not mess with your head?"

Sarah smiled at his shot. "Of course, at the time, Carina laughed at them," she said. "But she found out that it was true. When he was killed, she felt horrible for weeks. She actually cried. I think that's the first time I ever saw her cry. This was a really bad guy. At first, Carina was looking forward to the day when she could but a bullet between his eyes. Yet she found that she had feelings for him. She mourned for him. And that was after only a few months. Chuck, your mom has been with Alexei Volkoff for twenty years."

Chuck was speechless for a long moment. "Are you saying that my mom is in love with Alexei Volkoff?" he asked in shock.

"Ellie wasn't sure," Sarah said. "It was a very awkward discussion for her. Imagine your mother telling you about a new man in her life in your dad's house. She's probably not 'in love' with him the way that you're saying. She understands that Volkoff can't be allowed to get an Intersect. But she also doesn't want to see anything bad to happen to him. It's a complex situation. It's hard to predict what she'll do."

Chuck just spent a couple of minutes processing the information. "Mom knows that I'm alive," he finally said. "Are we in danger?"

"We're safe for now," Sarah quickly assured him. "Dad's not going to tell her about me or Casey, us being married, or this house. Alexei Volkoff is very powerful. But he doesn't have nearly the resources of the CIA. He would never have any hope of finding us."

"What about Dad?" Chuck asked. "They're married."

Sarah snuggled into him. "Chuck," she said. "Sweetie, I'm not the type of person who is good at comforting people. I'm just not. I'm more action oriented. Even with you, even now, I sometimes use sex to show you how I feel instead of telling you. It's just who I am. So I'll gladly shoot anyone in the head who ever causes you pain. In this situation, I get that there isn't really anyone to shoot. I'm sorry that you're getting cheated out of something basic that a husband should expect. I'll try hard to be here for you in any way that I can."

"But their marriage has been over for some time."

x-x-x-x-x

Mary Bartowski dropped her bags off at the front door. One of the scores of servants would make sure they were quickly unpacked and everything cleaned and put back in place. It was one of the benefits of being with one of the richest men in the world. The whole thing was… odd. At first, she had hated Russia. It was cold, drab, and she didn't speak the language. Okay, so it was still cold, drab, and she struggled with the language. But now it was home. And that was due to one reason.

She didn't have her coat all the way off before she went looking for him. It didn't take long. He was in their bedroom, where he always waited for her, sitting on the bed. He was wearing only his robe. Mary knew full well what that meant. So she just stood there and waited.

She also didn't have to figure out what the waive of his hand meant. At first, she had hated the demeaning way he treated her in the bedroom. Now, her fingers were shaking with excitement so much, that she could barely unbutton her blouse. As soon as it was on the floor, she waited for his next non-verbal instruction.

Alexei made it a point of watching her pose at every step of the process of getting naked. It was a familiar dance that had become routine without becoming boring. So it took a moment to get the next waive. "How did it go?" he asked as he watched Mary wiggle out of her slacks. "Did they buy it?"

"They bought it," Mary replied as she posed in only her invisible bra and panties, picked out specifically for this moment, and waited for his next signal. "You're going to get your Intersect."

Sex with Alexei, quite frankly, had taken some getting used too over the years. At first it was horrible, the required part of any long term seduction assignment she dreaded most. Alexei was nothing like Steven, who was generous and gentle. Alexei was demanding, powerful, and sometimes even a little rough. He owned her, insisted that she constantly perform for him in the same regular ritual. He wasn't above making her beg and perform assignments for the privilege. But he was also a bull. His endurance was amazing. Something just clicked between them. She experienced sensations in bed with him that she had never felt before… didn't even think were possible.

Mary had long ago stopped trying to tell herself that she could go back to the way things were with Steven twenty years ago. But openly betraying him the way that Alexei was asking would be…. hard. Even confessing the truth to Alexei about her mission had been a betrayal. That's why she had warned Ellie. Alexei wouldn't like that. She had just promised him an Intersect. She had an excellent chance to deliver. But would she? It was a tough call. Playing both sides would be dangerous. But she owed her old family that much.

Fortunately, those dark thoughts were tomorrow's problem. As soon as she was naked, she assumed the expected position on the bed. Foreplay wasn't a big thing with Alexei. He just went for it. Fortunately, Mary knew that and always made sure that she didn't need any preparation. She was already on fire. It didn't take very long at all before she was ready for a long night of… well; lovemaking wasn't exactly the right word. It was actually more intense than that. She was already close to the first of many climaxes she could expect tonight courtesy of her lover for the past twenty years.

Mary Bartowski was home.

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck again took a long moment to process the news. "We are them," he finally said, more to himself than to Sarah, his voice no more than a whisper. "Mom was a CIA agent who fell for her asset."

"We're not them," Sarah insisted pointedly. "Yes, I understand that the similarities are spooky. It's freaking me out a little bit too. I can't pretend to understand your parent's relationship. But they apparently decided that the sacrifice they made twenty years ago was worth it."

"But, Sarah," Chuck said. "Isn't it very possible that they had this exact same discussion twenty years ago? Something changed."

"Let me explain something to you," Sarah said. "It's the main thing about spies that you don't understand. The first thing that a spy is taught is to ignore their feelings. The first rule of being a spy is to never fall in love. It causes you to make bad decisions. You have to be an island. It's the only way to survive. That makes it a very lonely life. Maybe you can hook up with someone for a while. But you always have to be mentally able to shoot him in the head if you get the order. You also know that he has to be just as mentally ready to shoot you in the head. How can you possibly say that you love someone who you know would willingly shoot you tomorrow? That describes Bryce and me perfectly. To an outsider, it looked like we were a couple. That's how you've always looked at it. But we were never a couple. We were both spies. We were always both alone. We were just alone in the same place for a while. And that's why we look at sex differently. To you, sex is an expression of love. To Bryce, sex is a conquest, a trophy to be won and bragged about. To me, sex was a weapon, a currency, a fun few minutes… but it was never love. I wasn't allowed to love."

"Okay," Chuck said. "I get that. But what does that have to do with our current situation?"

"I could never go back to being alone anymore," Sarah replied. "I'd rather die than not be with you. Your mom clearly decided that she could go back to doing what a spy does. And she paid a huge price for it. I can't see us making that same decision. I wouldn't seduce someone for twenty years. I wouldn't do it for twenty minutes. You would never ask me… and I wouldn't do it if you did. I plan on spending the next fifty years or so by your side."

Chuck calmed down a little. "You're actually better at the comforting thing than you give yourself credit for," he said with a growing smile. "Thank you for that. It doesn't hurt that you're naked. Maybe that's the ingredient that's been missing all this time. I don't want to be alone either. I miss you when you go to get a glass of water." Chuck stopped his teasing and got more serious. "So what do you think we should do?"

Sarah smiled gratefully at his teasing. "We have a decision to make," she said. "Right now, we're in a perfect position to simply disappear and raise a family someplace. When I was planning to run with you, I created new identities for both of us. We could sell the house and move someplace. The only organization that could hope to even look for us is the CIA. They think we're both dead. Pretty soon our trail will be so faint that even they wouldn't have a chance. Volkoff wouldn't have a prayer of finding us. He wouldn't even try. We have plenty of money to live comfortably forever. We could live a normal life."

"Why would we have to move?" Chuck asked. "I love this house."

"I love it too," Sarah sighed. "But Ellie knows where it is. We'll find another house someplace just as nice."

"Do you really think Ellie would give us up?" Chuck asked.

"Of course not," Sarah said quickly. "Not willingly. But, Chuck, trust me. If Volkoff captures her, he could make her tell him anything he wants to know. If she doesn't know where we are, he can't torture it out of her. If we run, we'll have to say goodbye to Ellie for a few years."

"We'd be leaving Ellie in danger," Chuck stated sadly.

"We would," Sarah agreed. "That's a huge factor. But Ellie made the decision to join this war with her eyes open. She understands that the risk of something horrible happening to her is very real. It makes her an honest to goodness hero. She made sure last night, in no uncertain terms, to let me know that she doesn't want her situation to influence our decision. We have to do what is best for us. Ellie will understand… whatever we decide."

"So," Chuck said thoughtfully. "What do you want to do?"

"That's easy," Sarah said. "I'm going to be by your side. That's what I want to do for the rest of my life. If you fight, I'll be fighting next to you. If we run, I'll learn how to be a mom next to you… the best one that I can. I'll be honest. That scares me a little. But I'm also looking forward to it."

"That's not what I asked," Chuck said, with a little more of an edge in his voice than he intended. He saw the look on her face and calmed his voice. "I'm sorry that I raised my voice. Sarah, I get all that. I don't want to do anything you're against any more than you do. But you get an honest vote. What's your vote?"

Sarah considered the question for a long moment. "I can see both sides," she finally said. "We both want to do the right thing. That's pretty obvious. We've both made serious sacrifices for the greater good. I've spent my entire adult life trying to fight for the greater good. I see that same thing in you, and it's one of the many things that I love about you. Ellie is right. It's a family legacy. There is some serious evil out there that needs to be extinguished. Your dad and Ellie can't do that alone. I also get that you don't want to leave Ellie in danger. But guess what, Chuck? That would be every bit as hard for me. I'm quickly coming to love her just as much as you do. And we would be very valuable in that fight, especially if you become Superman. But fighting means some things. It means that we'll be in constant danger. It means that we put off any plans to raise a family until it's over. It means that we make sacrifices we haven't even thought about yet. Losing isn't an option for me. So let's not decide to fight unless we're committed to do whatever it takes to win… and that means being willing to get bloody."

"It means you being willing to trust Casey again," Chuck teased. "He doesn't mind getting bloody. Hopefully we can find someplace else for him to live."

Sarah smiled at his teasing. "You're not going to let this go, are you?" she asked. "Casey deserves some extended time in my doghouse. He disappointed me. That's a ridiculous understatement. I expected more from him. I have refrained from kicking him in the testicles. I think that he's getting off easy. He still needs to suffer the silent treatment for a while."

"It also means me uploading the new Intersect," Chuck suggested softly. "Let me be totally honest. I can't go back to being your asset."

"You've always been more than an asset," Sarah insisted. "Now, you're my husband. You're my partner in every way. Having said all of that, you'd have to admit that I'm more experienced in fighting situations. I would hope that you'd still listen to me. Chuck, in the past, you've taken some pretty foolish chances. With the enemies we're now facing, we can't afford that. If you become Superman, I fear that will get worse."

Chuck smiled. "You're just afraid that you won't be able to kick my ass anymore," he teased.

That didn't get the smile Chuck expected. "No," Sarah said. "I'm fine with that part. What I fear is that it will change you. I've see it a hundred times. The CIA takes fairly normal men and they teach them amazing skills. They make them feel that they are invincible. So when they're in a bar and facing stupidity, they teach the guy a lesson. It feels pretty damn good. They're taught to charm women… and it's very effective. They grow to like that power. Over time, it makes them arrogant. There isn't a man that they can't fight or a woman that they can't fuc… um, get in bed. It turns them into Bryce Larkin. Chuck, your skills are going to be almost infinite. I love what I have. Please don't make me watch you turn into Bryce Larkin."

Chuck reached over and grabbed her hand. "That's not going to happen," he said. "I promise."

Sarah finally found her smile. "I know," she said. "I don't think so either. Just like I'm sure that you don't think I'm going to turn into some seductress slut."

That got them laughing. "Touché," Chuck said. "We're both being pretty ridiculous, aren't we? How about this? We both have equal veto power. The instant that it's too much for either one of us we'll disappear and start our normal family."

"Either one of us," Sarah agreed. "The other accepts it with a smile. No argument, no whining, and no regrets."

"Agreed," Chuck said.

"So it looks like we're unofficially second generation rebels."

x-x-x-x-x

So far Agent Larkin was enjoying his first day of being an Intersect. Oh, the process itself had taken a lot out of him. But since then, it had been fantastic. Those first few flashes took some getting used too. But the power was exciting. He had never met the other two agents who were chosen for this pilot program. But that wasn't all that unusual. Deep cover agents didn't exactly advertise themselves.

They were at a party to honor the new Intersects. Of course, the only invitees were agents. And they certainly didn't mention the Intersect, since the program was far too big of a secret. But it was made clear that the three men were being honored… for something big. The rookie women agents in attendance knew the situation. This wasn't exactly an assignment. But being invited was an opportunity to get noticed by the CIA power brokers. There was a ton of competition for the glory assignments. It was clear what was expected if you wanted to be invited to the next party… and have a chance to lobby for one of those plum assignments. It's not like they were whores or anything. But truthfully, the distinction was sometimes very slight.

Not that Bryce needed the help, but that all but assured he would have his pick of the beautiful women, who were currently competing to show the most cleavage, to go home with him tonight. There were a couple of semi-finalists that he already had his eye on. But that would wait for a while. It was time to enjoy his new glory assignment. The food was top notch and the drinks were flowing freely.

Bryce was watching the guests dancing when Graham casually walked up to him. "Congratulations," Graham said. "How does it feel?"

Bryce wasn't sure how formal this visit was, but there was no harm in playing it safe. "It feels great, sir," he said.

"Are you ready for a new challenge?" Graham asked. "The war against Fulcrum is under control for now. We'd like you and your new skills to take a stab at an even more important issue for us."

Bryce made sure to play it cool. But his blood pressure had just shot up twenty points. More important than Fulcrum? This was exactly the shot in the arm his career needed after Sarah. "Of course, sir" he said calmly. "Anything I can do to help."

"Good," Graham said. "We've allowed this problem to go on for far too long. It simply has to be dealt with."

"We'd like you and your new team to take a shot at Alexei Volkoff."

x-x-x-x-x


	10. History Lesson

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: This is still going to get dark. Not in a sex or adult situations way. The story will be pretty tame in that regard. But Beckman and Graham ordered a law abiding American citizen to be murdered… simply because he was an inconvenience for them. I don't see how the writers could possibly expect us to like or trust them after that._

 _So expect a serious war. Ellie, and especially Sarah, are pissed. They aren't going to take any prisoners. Neither is the CIA. There will be multiple character deaths._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **History Lesson**

x-x-x-x-x

They had been cuddling for a long time before Chuck finally stirred. "Is this a good time to talk about some history?" he asked. "If we're going to war together, what should I know about you that will come in handy someday?"

"What do you want to know?" Sarah asked. "I'll tell you anything."

"Okay, I need to be a little honest here," Chuck said with his classic grin. "This has nothing to do with us going to war. So if this isn't the right time, I'll understand. I'm just curious about some things."

Sarah grinned back at him. "I know," she said. "I wasn't buying the whole 'going to war' excuse anyway. But it's okay. There isn't anything wrong with a husband wanting to know about his wife's history. Don't feel guilty. Ask away."

"I'm trying to be very careful how I approach this," Chuck said cautiously. "Let's face it. You're not a normal girl. Casey told me that you're like a trained tiger. You may look tame, you purr at night, but do the wrong thing at the wrong time, and you find yourself missing an arm. Seducing me until I'm exhausted and begging for mercy isn't exactly missing an arm. But I am beginning to see what he means."

Sarah's look of concern faded away when she saw his teasing grin. "Very funny," she said in relief. "Taking Casey seriously when he's talking about me probably isn't the smartest thing you've ever done. He wouldn't have a clue. What's your question?"

"He said that there is a line of superspies, oil billionaires, and princes from here to Minsk who have taken their shot at bagging the famous Sarah Walker," Chuck teased. "Was Casey just taking a jab at me? Or is it true?"

Chuck could see the red running up Sarah's neck. "I guess it's true," Sarah said softly. "He's right about that. It got to the point of being ridiculous. Carina made fun of me about it all the time. Bag is actually the correct verb. Carina told me once that there was something of a contest among the other agents over the years to see who could put the bigger notch in their headboard."

"Sarah," Chuck said gently. "I'm not trying to embarrass you. I'm just teasing. Let's drop it."

Sarah rolled over to fully face him. "No, it's okay," she said. "It is what it is. You have every right to know who I was. I want you to know everything. Actually, the spy stuff is easier to talk about than the history with my dad will be. Now's as good a time as any to talk about it. Let's get everything on the table."

Chuck started laughing. "Fine," he said. "But only if we agree that the second this gets awkward, we stop. I like both of my arms right where they are. If there is a contest, please tell me I'm winning."

That actually got them both laughing. "Chuck," Sarah said. "You're so far ahead that there's no point in keeping score…especially if quality counts for anything."

"Bryce has to be in second place," Chuck teased. "Who's third?"

"I didn't sleep around," Sarah insisted. "I don't want you to think that. In fact, you've slept with more women than I have men. But there was a time when I was a young, naïve, rookie agent. The Academy, and especially Graham, taught me how to dress, do my hair, and put on makeup. So I suddenly looked entirely different. I was the ugly duckling who was turned into a swan. All of a sudden I found myself around all of these smooth, good looking, macho types, who were constantly hitting on me. It was the first time in my life that men had ever pursued me. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy it at first. So I probably fell victim to some less than honorable intentions a couple of times. That is until I figured out they were only after one thing. After that, I was pretty stingy. That part was easy. They thought that their one liners were so smooth. I thought they were ridiculous. I enjoyed shooting them down. I quickly acquired my 'ice queen' nickname and became the challenge they all wanted their shot at. It was a real pain in the ass for years and years."

"How do you know how many women I've slept with?" Chuck asked.

That got Sarah laughing again. "You're joking, right?" she asked. "Who do you think you're dealing with? Sweetie, between us, you're not the jealous one. It's not even close. That's something you need to keep in mind when we're in public places. If I see another woman checking out my husband's cute ass, like they all seem to do, it's going to be an immediate throw down. Your past? I've investigated the current whereabouts of every woman you've ever dated. I've talked to most of them. I'd still like to have a little chat with Jill Roberts. That might not go so well… for her. I've learned that you've broken a few hearts of your own. You have a reputation for being very good in bed. Sweetie, if those women only knew."

"What about your assignments?" Chuck asked, to stop her laughing at his expense more than anything. "I saw the thing with that Lon Kirk. How far was that going to go?"

Sarah stopped laughing as she thought about that time. "I was so pissed at you," she remembered.

"I know," Chuck said. "I still don't know why… not really."

"You made me fall in love with you," Sarah explained simply. "Maybe that's not fair, but I didn't need that. It was the worst thing that could have happened to me at the time. I was stuck. I wasn't ready to surrender to it. I had worked my way to the top of one of the most difficult professions in the world. I was pretty proud of that. Ultimately, I flushed it all away because I found myself in love with my asset and I didn't know what to do about it. I have a confession to make. I'm a hothead. When I'm pissed, sometimes I go a tad overboard. The thought crossed my mind to make you watch this mark get very lucky. But I realized that would have caused you too much pain so I slowed him down. Then I started pretending that he was you. That worked amazingly well. So Mr. Kirk was probably going to get a little farther than he would have normally." She saw the look on Chuck's face and got more serious. "Sweetie, I'm just teasing," she added. "Those thoughts did cross my mind, but he wasn't going to get very far. That wasn't my assignment. It was our first date. Not even a guy like that could expect to get lucky on our first date."

"Watching that sucked," Chuck admitted. "Casey told me that you were just doing your job. It didn't help a bit. It was one of the worst moments of my life."

"I know," Sarah said softly. "I'm sorry. I knew you were watching. At first, I was pissed. I wanted to prove a point to you. Then, about half way through, I started feeling guilty. That's why I suggested we go below. His hands were starting to wander and I didn't want to have him feeling me up in front of you. With that string bikini I was wearing, one tug and my top was going to be on the floor. It wasn't going to take long for him to think of it. But that's all it was ever going to be. Look, I get this is hard for you. That kinda breaks my heart. But it never was hard for me. This guy was like all of the others. He was ridiculous, trying to be smooth. He wasn't even particularly good at it. I was just doing my job. He needed to be on fire… to anticipate what was going to happen on our next date so much that he'd shut off his brain. If that took me getting naked and felt up a little… it was no big deal. Watching him getting so aroused was funny to me. If you hadn't interrupted us, I was looking forward to the look on his face when I told him that he was not getting any farther tonight. I'm something of an expert at shooting men down at precisely the exact moment to inflict the most pain possible."

"That's a great skill to have," Chuck teased sarcastically. "Speaking for my gender… you suck."

"It's true," Sarah said with her eyes flashing with mirth. "In fairness, none of the members of your gender that I teased and left hanging out to dry were very good guys. They were mostly terrorists and drug dealers."

"I guess you're not counting the first time you spent the night with me in that ridiculously sexy negligee," Chuck said sarcastically. "Which did you think I was when you hung me out to dry? A Terrorist? Or a drug dealer?"

"You're still pissed about that," Sarah said sadly. "I don't blame you. It was unacceptable. I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. You were never a mark."

"It's history," Chuck said. "I'm sorry that I sounded like that. I don't think you get what being in that bed with you was like for me."

"You don't think that night wasn't hard for me?" Sarah asked softly. "It took everything I had to not jump on you. It was cruel. For what it's worth, I wasn't trying to be cruel. I was just performing my assignment. I was doing what I was trained to do. When I'm on an assignment, worrying about feelings doesn't happen. I push them down deep."

"Okay," Chuck said. "We were in a bad situation. Let's not dredge all that up again. We're together now."

Sarah finally rediscovered her smile. "We are," she said. "Hopefully, you can be the representative for your gender assigned to accept my formal apology. Anyway, back to the history lesson… over the years with the CATs, when the assignment called for someone to actually use sex, I was listening in the van while Carina was getting naked. I could pick out the sound of her fake moan anywhere. Actually, I've heard her real moan a few times too. Mostly, all I ever did was just some distraction flirting… dressing skimpily and letting the mark look down my dress, just like I did last night. Thanks to the Academy, a man seeing me without clothes on never bothered me. In fact, sometimes I played a game to see how much skin I could 'accidently' show him without being obvious. I've promised plenty of marks wild sex, described it in very vivid detail, but I've never paid off… not really. I don't want to hide anything from you. Once I was partnered with Bryce, things changed a little. So, I've done some necking to keep a mark occupied a few times while Bryce was looking through his room for information. We would agree in advance how much time I had to give him. Depending on how aggressive the mark was, sometimes he got a little farther. Almost always his hand found its way inside of my shirt. A few times, he got me out of some clothes. There was never any literal sex, but it came closer than I wanted a couple of times. That's really all there is."

"So let me ask you," Chuck said. "You showed our deceased doctor friend some serious cleavage last night. How far are you going to go in the future to accomplish our assignments?"

"That's up to you," Sarah responded. "Up to the line I've always drawn, those things have never bothered me. But it really doesn't matter if it bothers me. It only matters if it bothers you. I'm no longer a spy. I'm a wife. You have to admit, it's a powerful weapon. Unlike Bryce, I can't see you being okay with me necking with someone and getting naked or felt up. There's nothing wrong with that. I would never do it unless you were 100% on board. I can see what I did last night happening from time to time. Thank you for understanding about that. Again, I'd never do anything that you weren't 100% on board with."

"Okay," Chuck said sadly. "Thank you. I can't see me being okay with you necking with someone either, but let's never say never. What about training? Seduction School? What did they teach you? I don't think that I like the implication."

"It sucked," Sarah admitted. "No pun intended. It was the worst part of training for me. The fighting stuff was hard, but it was fun. I was good at it. They made it a competition. There was a tournament and I was class champion. I think that I still hold some records. Seduction School was the opposite. They taught you how to pick up a man in a bar in different situations. That may sound easy, but it's not. The key to being successful was to control the situation while you were making the mark think that it was his idea. I wasn't all that good at it. I'd much rather kick a terrorist in the side of the head than flirt with him. The primary goal the instructors seemed to want to accomplish was to get you over being bashful about being naked. They really enjoyed their work. They had these exercises where you had to pick up an instructor in a bar, take him home, and see how long you could stall him from actually demanding sex. That's when the exercise would end. You know me. I'm competitive. When I'm not good at something, I work extra hard at it. So I guess that the good news here is that I can pull off a pretty mean, slow, erotic striptease to stall when I want to. I'm saving showing that to you for a rainy day. There were lots of hands roaming, lots of clothes coming off, but there was never any literal sex, at least not that I know of. That would have crossed the line. I'm not so naïve that I don't realize some of the girls would earn some 'extra credit' or use sex to get a better assignment sometimes. But I never saw it happen."

"Graham?" Chuck asked. "You obviously had a personal relationship with him."

Sarah grinned. "I've never had sex with Graham," she explained. "At least not if you use President Clinton's definition." She saw the growing look of horror on his face as he worked through her meaning. "I'm just teasing you, Chuck," she said with a playful slap on his chest. "Nothing like that ever happened. He's older than he looks. He's older than my dad. I considered him a mentor. He recruited me into the CIA. I was young, scared, in over my head. He took me under his wing and got me through the Academy. He taught me secrets about spy craft he had learned over the years that even the instructors didn't know. I admired him. I owed him a lot. I've practiced the striptease routine in front of him a few times, so he's seen me without clothes, but lots of men have… and never when we were alone. After I graduated, he basically let me pick my assignments… until Bryce. Even then, he called me in and spent some time telling me how important this new assignment was and how he was excited for me. We now know that was a steaming pile. And let me be totally honest with you. Since sex was mostly a currency to me back then, if he had ever asked me for sex, I wouldn't have thought much about it. I would have smiled and paid off my debt to him in whatever way he wanted. I kept expecting it to happen. Given what I know now, I'm not sure why he never did. At the time, I thought that he honestly cared for me. That's what makes his betrayal hurt so much. Carina told me it was common knowledge on the street that we were regularly screwing. It never happened."

Chuck nodded.

"Oh, I almost forget," Sarah added. "Since we're having this discussion, you might as well know every embarrassing detail. I won a wet t-shirt contest in Cleveland once. Carina was the other finalist. Zondra was supposed to do it, but she got sick. Frankly, I think they set me up to see if I would go through with it. I tease Carina about beating her every chance I get."

"I don't know if I should feel relieved or disappointed," Chuck teased. "This story is a lot tamer than I feared. How do you get a job as a Seduction School Instructor anyway? They actually pay them too? I now have a rainy day striptease to look forward to. Too bad it hardly ever rains here. But I missed the wet t-shirt contest. I've never been to one."

"Wow," Sarah said with a laugh. "You didn't learn your lesson last night? You're seriously poking your tame Tiger with that stupid stick again? She might not stay so tame. Don't worry. You'll get your chance someday. They have wet t-shirt contests in lots of places. They're very popular with the people we're going to be associating with while prosecuting our family war."

Before Chuck could register any type of protest, there was a pounding at the door. "Mrs. Bartowski," Casey called. "I'm starving. What are our plans for breakfast?"

"Come in," Sarah answered.

"Are you decent?"

"We're decent."

Casey hadn't made it two steps into the room when he did an immediate about face. "Shit," he said under his breath. "You're naked. I thought that you said you were decent?"

"We are decent," Sarah insisted. "We're also naked. Come on, Casey. You know that Chuck is going to tell me everything. Trained tigers are always naked. Come over here and listen to me purr."

That got Chuck giggling helplessly just like Sarah had earlier. "Casey calls you Mrs. Bartowski?" he was finally able to squeak out.

"It's an inside joke," Sarah said. She turned her attention to Casey, who was still standing in the doorway with his back to them. "I'll be right out," she said. "I'm making my mom's recipe for French Toast. Fair warning. The kitchen is one of the rooms that Chuck has decreed as both clothing optional and a 'no panty' zone. I wouldn't dream of defying his orders. Hopefully he'll grant you a waiver."

As soon as Casey closed the door in disgust, Chuck and Sarah started laughing, leaning into each other. "You're out of control," Chuck teased. "You really enjoy torturing Casey with your nakedness, don't you?"

"Does that bother you?" Sarah asked with genuine concern. "People seeing me naked doesn't bother me. I get that I have a husband who may have a contrasting view. There's not a thing wrong with that. I want to be sensitive to it. If it bothers you, even a little, please tell me and I'll stop."

"It doesn't bother me," Chuck assured her, still laughing. "At least not with Casey. I'm enjoying it more than I ever would have thought. It's funny."

"By the way," Sarah said. "Ellie is coming for breakfast. She's bringing the new Intersect for you to upload. You might want to grant her a kitchen waiver. She could possibly go for the clothing optional thing in front of Casey for an entirely different reason."

Chuck was confused. "What are you saying?" he asked.

"Ellie thinks he's hot," Sarah replied. "Don't tell her that I told you this. She asked me what he was like in bed. Like I'd know. She would never cheat on Devon. But it is a good opportunity to tease her… well, actually, both of them… for the rest of her life."

Chuck shook his head as he looked at her cat-ate-the-canary grin. "You're definitely out of control," he sighed with a grin of his own. "You're really going to be a handful as a wife, aren't you?"

Sarah's grin turned evil. "I'm afraid so," she said.

"I don't think you'd want it any other way."

x-x-x-x-x

Bryce sat in the conference room trying hard to shake the hangover from last night out of his head. He hated these team meetings, always had. It was one of the great things about Sarah. She always came prepared in these situations and took charge.

But Sarah was gone. Graham had introduced him to his new partner last night. Her name was Kim. Fortunately, she looked to be almost as professional as Sarah. She was talking to their new support team as if she had read all of the two inch binder of briefing reports they had put together. That was a good thing, because Bryce hadn't cracked it open yet.

Alexei Volkoff was not a new problem for the CIA, quite the contrary. So there was a team established many years ago dedicated to his pursuit. They were already in place with analysts, satellite surveillance experts, even some junior agents. Some had already been on this assignment for years. The large conference room was full. There was another full conference room someplace in Germany linked on a secure video conference.

Then there was his new partner. Kim Smart was gorgeous. That went without saying. You didn't become a CIA Agent any other way. Some people might even say that Agent Smart was prettier than Sarah had been. She was certainly easier to get in bed. In fact, last night, it had been her idea. That was, frankly, something of a turn off for Bryce. He enjoyed a conquest… the chase… the ultimate surrender. Sarah had been his crown jewel. Her surrender had been hard fought, gained via well thought out manipulative tactics, and something very, very sweet to be savored. Kim was far too easy to be savored. If anything, Bryce felt like he was the conquest. There had to be something Agent Smart didn't really want to do to turn those conquest roles around.

Bryce knew that comparing his new partner to Sarah was pointless. Sarah was dead. He had to move on. So he forced himself to pay attention to the conversation. The frustration around the table was palpable. For having watched Alexei Volkoff for twenty years now, the CIA really didn't know much about the man. He had never been seen outside of his fortress. Satellite surveillance showed picture after picture that all looked exactly the same. Obviously, it was a very heavily fortified compound, almost a square mile in size, protected by a private army. Guards were constantly stationed at various strategic points. People came and went. But there was nothing on Volkoff. They had sent several agents over the years to attempt to infiltrate the compound itself. Their body parts had all come back in boxes.

Maybe it was time to give an Intersect a try. Russia wasn't Bryce's favorite place. But he did like Vodka. So he tapped Kim on the shoulder. "Wrap this up," he said.

Bryce gave Kim a moment to end her conversation before he stood up. Immediately every eye in the room turned to him. "Organize a penetration team," he instructed the moderator firmly. "Agent Smart, myself, and another junior couple." He turned to Kim as he walked to the door, clearly signifying that the meeting was over. "Pack your warm clothes," he said.

"It's time to go to Russia."

x-x-x-x-x

Steven sighed as he watched the 'secure' conference unfold on his monitor. Things had just gotten a lot more complicated.

Maybe Sarah was going to get her shot at Bryce Larkin much sooner than anticipated.

x-x-x-x-x


	11. The New Superman

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: This is still going to get dark. Not in a sex or adult situations way. The story will be pretty tame in that regard. But Beckman and Graham ordered a law abiding American citizen to be murdered… simply because he was an inconvenience for them. I don't see how the writers could possibly expect us to like or trust them after that._

 _So expect a serious war. Ellie, and especially Sarah, are pissed. They aren't going to take any prisoners. Neither is the CIA. There will be multiple character deaths._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **The New Superman**

x-x-x-x-x

Steven sat at the kitchen table grinning. Whatever his preconceived notions of Agent Walker had been, amazing cook wasn't high on the list. Yes, it was true that he didn't get many home cooked meals. But that French toast with the warmed maple syrup was perhaps the best thing he had ever tasted.

Once Chuck learned that Dad would be joining them, he reluctantly relaxed Sarah's kitchen clothing ban. Of course, before relenting he teased her for a minute. Her pleading look was simply too ripe of an opportunity to pass up. Sarah didn't mind teasing Casey, Ellie, or the general male population… but her willingness to be naked in front of other people clearly didn't extend to her new, unofficial father-in-law.

By unspoken agreement, they held off on any talk of war or killing until breakfast was over. Even Casey behaved. That suited Sarah just fine. This was exactly the kind of family setting that she had missed for… well, it seemed like forever. Naturally, Sarah was a very confident woman. She knew that men found her beautiful. She also knew that, thanks to her training, she could handle herself in almost any situation. So normally, she was hard to flatter. In fact, most times she tuned it out. It was almost always some smooth, macho dude trying to charm her out of her panties. Today was a notable exception. Sarah was overtly eating up the praise for her cooking. It was even more than that. She was blushing like a schoolgirl. Chuck was dying to tease her about it. But his newly acquired husband instincts stopped him. Let her bask in the glow for a while. She deserved it. Besides, she was so cute.

Unfortunately, all good times must come to an end. Quickly enough, nobody could eat another bite. Naturally, it would be Casey to end the unspoken agreement. "So," he finally said as he turned to Steven. "Who do I get to kill first? Beckman? Graham?"

Sarah didn't give Steven a chance to respond. "Graham's mine," she growled. "Bryce too. You can have Beckman."

"Wait a minute," Ellie interrupted. "I might have something to say about this. Who was responsible for the camera that has been hidden in my bedroom for the past year?"

"That would be Beckman," Casey said.

Ellie's frown turned into something of a grin as she faced Casey. "Tell me the truth," she said. "How many times have you seen images of me naked?"

Casey's face instantly turned beet red.

"I thought so," Ellie continued without waiting for a response. "I think that means that you owe me. Maybe I get to see you naked sometime. That seems fair to me." She turned to Sarah. "What do you think?"

Sarah held her arms with her palms facing out. "Hey," she said. "Leave me out of this. I think that I just threw up in my mouth a little."

Steven sat and grinned at his daughter mercilessly tormenting the poor Major. The two spies were trading execution victims like they were baseball cards. "I hate to spoil your fun," he finally teased. "But I'm afraid that the CIA is last on our elimination list. For now, we need them."

Casey was the first to ask the question they were all thinking. "Why do we need them?"

It was Ellie who answered, still grinning wickedly. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," she said. "We need the CIA to end Fulcrum and Volkoff. They're the only group that could bring the resources to bear that would be required. There's no way for the five of us to do that."

"We… um, I mean they have been trying to do exactly that for twenty years," Sarah said thoughtfully. "What's changed? How are they going to succeed now?"

"We're what has changed," Steven said. "We're going to lure Fulcrum into a trap. Once all of Fulcrum is in the same place, we'll tip off the CIA and they will blow them to hell with a single airstrike."

"Okay," Casey said, desperately trying to change the subject and get Ellie to quit grinning at him in that predatory way. "I like the sound of that. How do we do it?"

"The key is Ted Roark," Steven said with a grin. "He's the only one who could order Fulcrum to assemble. He'd be easy enough to kill. But we need him. So we're going to have to seduce him."

Steven looked at the distressed look on his new daughter-in-law's face. "Relax, Sarah," he said softly. "It was a poor choice of words. I'm not talking about sex. Those tactics are off the table. I've already touched that hot stove once too often. It wouldn't work anyway. Ted Roark is one of the richest men in the world. He doesn't have to troll bars looking to pick up women. He has a steady stream of beautiful women coming to him in the hopes that he'll help their acting or modeling careers. They are all fully vetted. It would take months for any agent, even someone as beautiful as Sarah, to get in position to meet Ted Roark in person, let alone be alone with him. But there are other ways to seduce people… money… fame… power. Yes, he already has all of those things. But he'd like more… especially power. That's where you, our new superman, and Major Casey here come in. First, we have to get his attention."

Sarah couldn't decide if she should be relieved or worried. Yes, it was good that sex was off the table. But getting Ted Roark's attention still seemed ominous. "He wants an Intersect," she said. "Are you suggesting that we use Chuck as bait? I'm afraid that I would have to veto that idea."

That got Steven chuckling. "Your protectiveness of him has been well documented," he said. "That's a good thing. I don't want to discourage that in any way. But please give me a chance to explain before you veto anything. We're not going to use him as bait. We're going to use our new team to demonstrate the Intersect's power. Ted is going to get very tired of losing to it. We're going to fan his red hot desire to get one of his very own into a white hot desire. It's all he'll be thinking about. Then, we're going to present him with an opportunity to steal one."

"And that opportunity will be a trap," Casey added. "Very good. So what's our next move?"

"Not so fast," Steven continued. "It's not going to be quite as easy as that. First, we have to create our new superman here and make sure that he really is as powerful as we hope."

"Major, I think that you might just enjoy this part."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah looped her arm through his affectionately as they walked into the… well, bar was probably the best word. It was a place, just off Sunset Strip, that Sarah wouldn't have gone into alone, certainly not dressed the way she currently was, and never without packing multiple weapons.

Chuck was grinning from ear to ear. "You're unquestionably a big hit here," he teased. Indeed every eye in the place was glued to her. "More than most places. It's a good thing that you don't have any personal modesty. This dress is even skimpier than the other one. It might even pass the kitchen clothing rules. Not to sound like a jealous husband, but just how many dresses like this do you own anyway? Tell me something. My husband instincts aren't quite mature enough yet. I can't tell. Are you really excited? Or is it just cold in here?"

"Very funny," Sarah replied. "I just want to go on record… again. I'm against this. I can't believe your dad would send us into a biker bar. We don't have nearly enough tattoos or body piercings for this crowd."

"It's true," Chuck said. "But we do have far more teeth than the crowd average. So that probably evens things out."

"So," Sarah said as she blew out an exasperated breath. "Will you, at least pretend to, take this seriously? This is an important assignment. I'd like to point out… again… that this is a one time permission to get macho. Don't get used to it."

"Understood," Chuck replied as he guided Sarah to an open table and they sat down. "You are wise to be cautious. In the role of bait, if this doesn't go well, you'll most likely be going home with one or more of these big, hairy dudes and getting a much closer look at their various tattoos. I imagine they have many more currently hidden in places that they will be more than willing to show you, up close and personal… if you get my meaning. That's as far as I want to think about it. Do you see any that you fancy? I'll try and point him in your direction with my last bit of fleeting consciousness."

Okay, so Sarah was trying to be stern. She really was. This was a serious situation. Her instincts told her that, whenever you lost concentration on an assignment, bad things happened. But she just couldn't keep in the wet laugh. "You're impossible," she said as she gave up and started openly laughing. "If this doesn't go well, and I do have to go home with one or more of these dudes, you're so going to be in my doghouse… for a long, long time. Ask Casey how much fun that is."

"I'm just saying."

x-x-x-x-x

It was simply unreal. Sarah was in the middle of a mission… and she found herself actually having fun. It wasn't done. Okay, so picking a bar fight probably wasn't the most challenging mission… but still, they were in danger. There were twenty potential adversaries in the room. Her job was to get on that dance floor and fan the flames. Sure, it wouldn't be the first time she had danced with the intention of arousing men. Sarah loved to dance. She knew full well that when she turned into that molten sex goddess bouncing around the dance floor, especially given the skimpiness of her current attire, she was putting on quite a show. Tonight it was different. Tonight, the show was primarily for her new husband. If the other men could also see it… well, that was her, two birds with one stone, assignment.

She had never been dancing with Chuck… not really… only on their first date. And that time she had been busy dodging agents. Tonight, there was no reason to hold anything back. It turned out that Chuck was actually a decent dancer when he wanted to be. It was a pleasant surprise. That first date, he basically just stood there stiffly and watched her dance. Tonight, he was shaking it pretty good. That settled it. Chuck taking her dancing was something that she was most definitely going to use her new status as his unofficial wife to regularly suggest.

If Sarah was trying to make an impression on the male patrons of the place… and she most definitely was… she was succeeding admirably. As soon as they got back to their table, a drink was waiting for them, or more specifically for her.

They hadn't even fully caught their breath yet when a very large man approached. "Mike," he said as he rather boldly took the empty seat next to Sarah.

Mike was basically an average man in here… maybe a tad larger. But he boasted the typical biker tattoos that covered pretty much his entire body. "Hi, Mike," Chuck said with a grin, basically ignoring the fact that this uninvited 'guest' was sitting far closer to his wife than would normally be appropriate. "Thanks for the drink. I'm Chuck and this is Sarah."

Mike ignored Chuck's offered handshake. In fact, he wasn't paying any attention to Chuck at all. He was too busy staring at Sarah, specifically her chest. "Let's dance," he said.

Sarah couldn't help but smile. At least that was technically a complete sentence. Mike plainly got right to the point. This was so predictable. So she willed the disgust from her face. "No, thank you," she said sweetly. "I'm here with a date."

Mike just as plainly didn't take rejection easily. "Him?" he sneered, the disdain written all over his face as he looked at Chuck closely for the first time. "He won't mind." Mike stood and grabbed Sarah's wrist. "Come on," he said. "Let's dance. I'd like to get to know you a lot better."

All Sarah could see for a long moment was red. Anyone disrespecting her husband like this would have normally set her off on a three state killing spree. And Agent Walker could take this hairy dude with one hand tied behind her back. But she knew her assignment. Fortunately, through her rage, she could see the flash hit Chuck's face. So she tried to twist her wrist out of Mike's firm grasp without causing a scene. "No, thank you," she repeated.

Chuck finally found his voice. "We're not looking for trouble," he said. "But if you don't take your hands off her, like right fucking now, we're going to have a big problem."

Of course, saying something like that to someone like Mike was like waving a red flag in front of a snorting Brahma Bull. "She's going to dance with me," Mike said. "You can sit there and watch, or you can try and stop me and go to sleep."

"Maybe we should take this disagreement outside," Chuck suggested.

Sarah was enjoying watching this little play. So she threw another log onto the roaring fire. "Sweetie, please," she pleaded. "Don't get into another fight. You're going to hurt him just like the last time. That guy couldn't even stand when you were done with him. It's why I didn't want to come here in the first place."

Mike had never been bashful about participating in a fight. He had been in a few gazillion. He was very good at it, probably his best skill. He laughed at the suggestion that this average looking guy could possibly hurt him. Amazing babes who looked and dressed like her didn't walk into a place like this. She was probably looking to live out a little fantasy of her own. Showing this slut who the real man was and giving her that fantasy might be a little fun. If her fantasy went a little farther in the physical department than she had anticipated, well, a few bruises were a small price to pay for such a wild fantasy. She had to know what she had signed up for when she put on that dress. So he nodded in Chuck's direction. "Let's go," he said.

Naturally, in places like this, fights were an almost nightly occurrence. They were part of the entertainment. So sensing a good time seeing their friend Mike wipe up the parking lot with this fool… and reaping the rewards of a night with the amazing beauty with him, they all filed out to watch.

Once they were in the parking lot, Sarah fanned the flames even more. "Okay," she announced loudly in disgust. "You know my rules in this area. If you insist on fighting, the winner is my boyfriend until noon tomorrow. Anything he says goes all night. Don't come crying to me when I go home with him. I don't want to hear a single complaint when I'm telling you about the details of what he demands from me as his prize." She turned to Mike. "Do you have an extra helmet?" she asked. "I don't want to mess up my hair on the way to your place."

Mike didn't actually own a helmet. There weren't a lot of helmets worn in these parts. But he was sure he could come up with one for the short ride to his place. Not being a strong conversationalist, he didn't waste any time in a discussion about rules. The first one to land a solid blow almost always won these things. He launched a haymaker at Chuck designed to knock his head clean off his shoulders. Chuck allowed the punch to come tantalizingly close to his jaw before dodging it. He stood there grinning.

Mike was surprised that his punch didn't end the fight. This guy was quicker than he looked. But that was okay. He shortened his next punch, going more for precision than power.

Again, Chuck easily dodged the blow.

Mike was again surprised. This guy was quick. So he put his head down and bull rushed him. Once he had him on the ground, his quickness would be neutralized and he could pummel the grin off his face… and claim his reward of the hot blonde.

It was a big mistake.

Chuck's spinning kick caught Mike directly on the jaw. That, along with his own momentum, was devastating. Nobody, Mike included, was going to stay standing after taking that blow. Mike collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Sarah grinned as she surveyed the unconscious heap. She looked around and announced loudly. "Anybody else want to be my boyfriend?"

Of course, Mike's friends weren't going to stand there and watch someone come into their bar and challenge them like this, especially when the blonde prize was so amazing. After a few moments of shock, they all rushed Chuck. So for a while, all hell broke loose.

Sarah was well trained in virtually all of the martial arts. So she recognized some of the moves that the Intersect had given him. But he was moving so fast that she quickly lost track. All she could see was bikers hitting the ground all around her. It was the most amazing thing she had ever seen. There were about twenty of them. There could have been a hundred and it wouldn't have mattered. The fight, if you could call it that, lasted less than a minute. When it was over, all you could hear was the groans from the men who were still semi conscious. Chuck hadn't taken a single blow. In fact, he wasn't even winded. If anything, he looked a little bored.

Casey walked up and quickly assessed the scene. "That was unbelievable," he said. "You didn't need me at all. Orion said that you would be Superman. But I never expected this. He was right. I did enjoy it."

"Yeah," Sarah agreed. "It most definitely works. Let's get out of here."

Chuck turned to Sarah. "You said that this is my one night to be macho," he said. "I have to admit that I'm really enjoying it."

"Of course you're enjoying it," Sarah said. "Anyone would enjoy it. I'm enjoying it too. Watching you blow through those men was amazing. That's the problem. It's like a drug. It ultimately makes you a slave to the great feeling. You want it again and again. Over time it changes you. Chuck, I love what I have. Please don't change."

"Okay," Chuck agreed. "I understand. I'll be careful. But you'd have to admit, this is my one chance to enjoy it. I don't want it to end so soon."

That got Sarah grinning. "Yes," she said. "I guess we can give in to it once in a while… as long as we're careful. What do you have in mind?"

Chuck was obviously surprised that Sarah agreed. So he thought about it for a long moment. "Let's see," he said. "What would a macho guy do? I'll tell you what. I'll let you decide. We can go to a nicer place and I can show off my incredible blonde conquest on the dance floor. It would be our third date. I'm sure that you understand the significance of that. Or we can go home and I'll show my incredible blonde conquest what the Intersect can do in the bedroom and have her begging for mercy. After all, I did win the fight. The deal was anything goes until noon tomorrow. I think that I'm owed the prize."

Sarah's knees were suddenly weak. "Wow," she said. "How can you possibly ask me to choose between those two things? I probably shouldn't admit this to you, but fights turn me on. You know how much I love to dance. It also turns me on. But you collecting your prize and making me beg the Intersect for mercy as you spend the night ravaging me… Chuck, it really, really turns me on."

"From what I've been seeing for the past few days, the wind blowing turns you on," Casey grumbled.

Sarah grinned at his, not so subtle, shot. "It's true," she agreed. "We probably can't make a bad decision here. It's early. We have all night. Can't we do both?"

That got Chuck grinning. "We can do both," he said. He nodded to Casey. "You can go home," he said.

"I've got the rest of the night covered."

x-x-x-x-x

Ellie just snuggled comfortably into Devon. Ever since the moment Dad popped back into her life, there just didn't seem like there were enough hours in the day. Devon's role in the war, for now anyway, was to keep up normal appearances. So their, once robust, sex life had taken a serious dent. They knew that was going to be the case going in… one of the sacrifices they would be forced to make. What Ellie hadn't anticipated was how much more special the moments when they could get together would be.

At first they were very careful to not discuss anything secret in the apartment. They now knew that for the past year there had been a hidden camera pointed at them almost everywhere they were, including their bed. That meant somewhere there were dozens of hours of footage of them engaged in intimate activity. It was even more than that. Anytime they got out of the shower, got ready for bed, or even changed clothes, it had been in front of that camera. It was the most basic of personal violations. Ellie vowed that someone would pay dearly someday. Dad assured her that this blatant personal violation was part of the punishment that Sarah would be handing out. Fortunately, Dad told her that there was no longer any surveillance. With Chuck 'dead', nobody was interested in them.

"I miss you," Devon said softly. "I wish that this could just be over."

"Not half as much as I do," Ellie sighed. "I miss you too. I'm sorry. Hopefully, it's only for a little while."

"I didn't say that to make you feel guilty," Devon said. "You have nothing to be sorry for. We made this decision with our eyes wide open. We knew what would be required going in. I don't regret it. I hope that you don't either."

"I don't regret it," Ellie sighed. "We didn't have much of a choice. You were right. If we don't deal with this now, it will find us someday."

"When do you have to leave?" Devon asked.

"Early," Ellie said sadly. "Dad wanted to talk. He didn't sound too good."

"It appears that we have a major complication to deal with."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck and Sarah sat quietly in the dark car. "I'm sorry," Sarah finally said. "I didn't mean to ruin such a nice night. It's still so early. We were having such a good time. I told you that I was the jealous one."

That got Chuck laughing. "You didn't ruin anything," he said. "I tell you this all the time. I love it when you turn bad-ass. She probably had it coming. Actually I even think she threw the first punch."

"She was drunk," Sarah sighed. "She really didn't know what she was doing. I'm embarrassed. I should have just walked away. When it comes to you, I guess I get a little crazy. I don't know what came over me."

Chuck was still laughing. "I do," he said. "You're just anxious to see what the Intersect can do in the bedroom. I have to tell you, I don't know yet either. Maybe we'll find out together."

That cheered Sarah up… a lot. "Sweet talker," she said with a grin. "I guess we both have a macho thing going tonight."

"Not just yet," Chuck said. "We're already downtown. It's early."

"We still have one thing left to do."

x-x-x-x-x


	12. The New Partner

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: This is still going to get dark. Not in a sex or adult situations way. The story will be pretty tame in that regard. But Beckman and Graham ordered a law abiding American citizen to be murdered… simply because he was an inconvenience for them. I don't see how the writers could possibly expect us to like or trust them after that._

 _So expect a serious war. Ellie, and especially Sarah, are pissed. They aren't going to take any prisoners. Neither is the CIA. There will be multiple character deaths._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **The New Partner**

x-x-x-x-x

 _Találkozzunk a Stillwell Hotel. Szoba 622. Sürgős. Légy kész arra, hogy bulizni._

Carina groaned as she looked at her phone. This Hungarian Attaché moron was starting to grate on her very last nerve. He wasn't supposed to be back in town for another week. Be ready to party? Urgent? Why was it that all of these drug smugglers always assumed that you were available to be summoned to their hotel room anytime they got horny… which was almost always? The ones with diplomatic immunity were the worst. The politicians at the State Department always insisted that there be an air tight case before they would risk the political embarrassment of an arrest. The drug runners all knew that, so they had even more disregard for law enforcement than the average low life. It made them particularly arrogant and demanding. The quality of the sex with this guy was a new low. For being such a rich dude, he couldn't at least spring for a suite at the Grand Ambassador? At least then she'd have a nice view to keep her mind off her 'service' to the democracy.

Agent Miller didn't need this right now. Ever since she got the devastating news about Sarah, it had been a lousy week. That didn't begin to describe it. She was half tempted to blow this guy off, crawl into her own bed, cry until there were no tears left, and then sleep until sometime next week. But she knew that she couldn't. She had spent far too much time getting close to this scumbag's organization and his inner circle to blow it now. She had already performed way too many distasteful 'services' on her assignment… and was only about halfway to building that airtight case to take to the State Department. This was something she had to do.

Fortunately, she didn't have to spend any time getting ready. The cocktail dress she was wearing was fine. Based upon her prior history with this guy, she wouldn't be wearing it very long anyway.

It didn't take long to get there, and even less time to find his room. Perhaps her pounding on the door wasn't exactly ladylike. Tough. Carina was tired of pretending. At first, she had been a wide-eyed young agent, bouncing between the DEA and CIA, just trying to do the right thing for both agencies… protecting the greater good… saving the world. And yes, there was far more sex than she had expected and far less fighting. Till now, she had always found a way to make the sex fun… even with the creeps like this moron. But lately it was feeling more and more like she was just another government whore. How exactly was submitting herself to be this jerk's on call sex toy making the world a better place? Even if they were lucky enough to bust him, it was a coin flip whether the politicians would make some sort of deal with his country and let him go. Maybe it was time to do something else with her life. Sarah would have known what to do. But she was gone. So better to just get this over with and start to figure things out on her own.

When the door finally opened, Carina had to blink to make sure that she wasn't imagining things. It wasn't him. It wasn't even a him. It was her best friend standing there with that shit eating grin she always got when she was really happy. "Sarah," she whispered. "You're dead."

"Apparently not," Sarah answered.

Suddenly Carina had her arms around Sarah's neck, holding on for dear life. For a long time, she just collapsed into her. Words were not necessary in this situation. Sarah could feel her friend shaking with emotion. Crying wasn't Carina's thing. So Sarah didn't rub her face in it. It wasn't the time to tease her about crying. That would come later… and often. She just held her tight and rubbed her back as she sobbed.

"They told me that you were dead," Carina was finally able to say.

"Yeah," Sarah said. "Well, they're wrong. They are actually wrong a lot. It's what they do best."

Just as suddenly the mood changed and they both started giggling. "They are wrong a lot," Carina agreed through her tears. Finally she turned to Chuck, who was sitting on the sofa pretending to be interested in the ballgame on the TV to give them some privacy. "Hello, Chuckles," she said. "You're supposed to be dead as well. Something tells me that you have something to do with Agent Walker faking her death."

"Agent Walker didn't fake her death," Sarah insisted. "Agent Walker is dead. Things have changed a lot in my life in the past week, especially with him. Now I'm Mrs. Chuckles. We're on our honeymoon."

If Carina was surprised by her news, she sure didn't show it. In fact, the grin she flashed at him was rather knowing. "Who could have possibly seen that coming?" she asked sarcastically. "Wow, Chuckles, so you finally broke through her walls. I hope you know what you've gotten into. Congratulations."

"Um," Chuck groaned. "Not to interrupt such a sweet moment, but can we find another nickname? I hate Chuckles. What about Dipshit?"

"I'm sorry, Chuckles," Carina said. "Dipshit is good. It just doesn't have the same ring to it. Nothing else seems to fit."

That got both ladies laughing helplessly. "Come on," Sarah finally said. "I told you to be ready to party. Chuck is taking us dancing. It's sort of our version of a wedding reception. Your job is to keep me from starting a fight if someone checks out his ass."

"Unless that someone is you, of course."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah's grin was so huge that it was starting to hurt her face. Carina was such a hoot, shooting down men wanting her to go home with them. It was just like old times. Well, it wasn't exactly like old times… because tonight she turned them all down. Of course she danced with some guys. And, of course, they always took that as a sign that they were about to hit the jackpot. Maybe it wasn't Sarah's finest hour, but she loved the look of despair on their face when they finally realized Carina had stopped flirting and was now laughing at them.

And, yes, Sarah could see plenty of women who took more than just a glancing look at Chuck's ass. He even received more than one request to dance. Fortunately, Carina's incessant teasing him about it inspired humor instead of jealousy… for tonight anyway.

Up till now, Chuck and Sarah had stuck to each slowly sipping a beer. It was the drink of choice in biker bars. Now that they were in a better place, Sarah already warned her new husband that sipping anything wasn't going to fly with Carina when she was in a mood to party… and especially not beer. So they quickly found themselves passing around a salt shaker and, in unison, pounding down tequila shooters. The good thing about being with two beautiful women… well one of many good things… was that they already had more shots of tequila lined up, courtesy of the single men, than they could possibly drink.

"So let me ask you a serious question," Chuck asked in one of the few moments they were all at the table at the same time. Carina was already holding one of the shots up in the air, in a clear signal, as she passed Sarah the salt. "Have either of you ever paid for a drink in your entire lives?"

Like most things tonight, the girls found this hilarious. It inspired another fit of giggling that lasted so long that they had to delay tipping up the shot.

It was an amazing night. They were having a blast. Chuck had never seen Sarah drink more than a glass of wine… certainly never drunk. And the spies could clearly hold their liquor. So whether it was the tequila, or simply the euphoric situation, they were both full of energy. Chuck quickly wore down from one or the other constantly dragging him onto the dance floor. Thankfully, the girls didn't mind dancing with each other and started giving him an occasional break.

Normally, Chuck would have been uncomfortable being in the same room with Carina, much less dancing with her. Tonight was different. For one thing, she didn't give him much of a choice. She just grabbed his wrist and dragged him out onto the floor. If he was worried about Sarah's reaction, her smiling nod ended that. And Chuck had to admit. Tonight's version of Carina was much more fun. She laughed at all of his jokes. In fact, both of the best friends were almost always laughing. That, more than anything, made Chuck want to give her an honest chance. Anyone who could make Sarah let down her guards and openly have such a good time couldn't be all bad.

Of course, whenever Chuck and Carina were dancing, Sarah was left alone at the table. The results were predictable. Chuck could see the steady line of men trying to get her on the dance floor. A couple had even been so bold as to try taking a seat next to her and attempt to impress her with some smooth one liners. Those results were also predictable, as she quickly sent them packing. Carina followed his eyes. "Don't worry, Chuckles," she said while laughing. "The girl can take care of herself. It's been this way since the day I met her. She attracts horny men like an over-ripe banana attracts fruit flies. I've never seen any of them get as much as an encouraging smile from her. They called her…"

"The Ice Queen," Chuck finished for her. "So I've heard."

Carina looked at him for a long moment, clearly choosing her words carefully. "I've never seen her like this," she finally said. "She looks so… happy. Chuck, you probably don't believe this, but she is the most important thing in the world to me. I can't pretend to understand what you two have… but I do get that it's real. So here is my one time warning to you. Fuck her over… hurt her in any way… and I'll hunt you down and bury your mutilated body in a shallow grave."

Chuck didn't give an inch. In fact, he starred her down for a moment. "That's funny," he finally replied. "I was about to say almost the exact same thing to you. I probably wouldn't have used the phrase 'fuck her over.' It wasn't very ladylike, was it?"

It was the perfect thing to say. Carina was laughing so hard that she had to lean on Chuck for support. "I suppose not," she finally conceded through her laughing. "Chuckles, I think that you and I are going to get along famously."

"Maybe," Chuck replied thoughtfully. "It was a shaky start. But I think that I would like that. I trust that there will be no further attempts to seduce me."

That got Carina laughing even harder. "Believe me," she said. "Sarah has already made that point crystal clear. When you were in the bathroom, she told me… well, where do you think that I got the idea of leaving your mutilated body in a shallow grave anyway? If you thought my use of 'fuck her over' wasn't ladylike, I'm afraid you wouldn't have cared for her rant very much. When Sarah uses that language, I can tell she's being deadly serious. In that situation, there is only one thing to say to her to avoid an ass kicking or worse… and that's 'yes, ma'am'. If you're going to be married to her, that's something I predict you're going to learn the hard way multiple times over the years just like I have. There is one other thing you should know."

"Nobody's ever accused either of us of being a lady."

x-x-x-x-x

Finally, even the hardened and in tip top shape spies had enough dancing for one night. That was fine with Chuck. He loved to see Sarah have so much honest fun. They still hadn't stopped giggling like teenagers. But he was exhausted. Nobody was drunk… not really. They had worked most of that off with the physical exercise. Still, they recognized that they shouldn't be driving. The good news was that they already had a hotel room within walking distance. The bad news was they hadn't come prepared to spend the night. None of them had anything except the clothes they were wearing. That meant between the three of them, they had one bed, two skimpy cocktail dresses not really suitable for sleeping in a bed… and zero bras.

Chuck wasn't sure who was having a better time watching him struggle for someplace to look without getting an eyeful of Carina's perky assets that she was making every effort to keep centered in his field of vision. Carina? Or Sarah? "We're lucky that Chuck granted me a waiver tonight," Sarah said as she placed the hanger containing her dress in the closet next to Carina's. Suddenly there were two perky sets of assets competing for the spot in his field of vision. "He is usually against the idea of me wearing panties. He must have wanted some protection from the bikers… in case things went south."

Like most things tonight, that got the girls laughing helplessly. At last, Sarah finally made a big show of seductively pealing Chuck's t-shirt from him. As soon as she had it over his head, she handed it to Carina… not that it hid much. Chuck knew that, in their current mood, these two friends would never stop teasing him. It had been a warm day, they had the air conditioning cranked up as high as it would go, and the room was freezing. The effect on both ladies was pretty obvious, even as he was trying hard to not look at half of them. So he stripped down to his boxers, dove under the covers, and buried his head under the pillow as quickly as he could.

Quickly enough he could feel Sarah slip under the covers next to him and snuggle comfortably. At least he hoped it was Sarah. Given the general giddiness being displayed, it was probably worth a confirming look. So he lifted the pillow from his head and took a peek. Fortunately, the blonde hair that was tickling his neck confirmed things.

"I know that you're keeping track of these things," Sarah whispered, as she pressed into him. "So for your records, it's cold in here… and I'm excited. I've seen Carina have sex in front of me only about a million times. It seems like some payback is due."

For a moment, Chuck feared that she was actually serious and was going to seduce him. Having sex with Carina in the room wasn't high on his list of good times. Her hand sliding past the waistband of his boxers pretty much confirmed her intent. Fortunately she was distracted.

Carina hadn't headed for the sofa, where her blanket and pillow awaited. Instead she sat on the edge of the bed and studied the two newlyweds snuggled together. "I want in," she finally said softly.

Sarah lifted her head a little to face her. "I know," she said. "Sweetie, it's too dangerous. This isn't your fight."

Chuck quickly realized that they were being serious… and a little relieved when he realized what Carina wanted into. They obviously had a complex relationship. They could go from silly and giggling… to emotional… to angry… and back to silly at the snap of a finger. He had already seen that happen several times tonight. So far he was smart enough to stay out of it.

"What do you mean, not my fight?" Carina asked, probably more forcefully than she intended. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You have a career," Sarah insisted. "A life. Think about it. You'd be committing treason."

"I'm already committing treason!" Carina replied hotly. "I committed treason when you opened the door tonight and I didn't shoot you in the fucking head."

"I know," Sarah said. "Carina, I'm not trying to fight with you. This is different and you know it. It's a life decision."

Chuck knew that he should just stay out of this and let them work it out. He really did. But that wouldn't be Chuck, would it? "We're going to war," he said. "We have no choice. It's what's required to earn our right to live a normal live and raise a normal family. But this war has an ending for us. We're counting the days until we're free. There's no way to do this half-assed. We're going to eliminate anyone or anything standing in our path, including your CIA. We're not going to be afraid of getting bloody. Tell me why you would want to be a part of that? Sarah's right. Carina, none of that applies to you. This isn't your fight."

Carina was visibly surprised that Chuck was taking the lead. So she made an effort to soften her tone. "Why do you think I became an agent in the first place?" she asked. "I know that you see me as the team whore. I'll admit, that's what it looks like. Sometimes it's how I even see myself. I'm pretty disgusted that sex seems to be the only thing I'm ever asked to do. I have other skills. Blondie here is a badass. But I can give her an honest fight for a while. I signed up to do the right thing… to make a difference in the world. You and Sarah don't have a patent on wanting to do the right thing. So, Chuck, can't you take a step back and see how insulting it is when you tell me that doing the right thing isn't my fight?"

Calling him Chuck instead of the usual Chuckles told him how serious she was. "You're right," he said. "It was insulting. I'm very sorry. For what it's worth, I did think you were the team… well, whore isn't the word I would pick… but you know what I mean. I don't think that any more. I'm sorry for misjudging you."

"I misjudged you too," Carina said softly. "I'm equally sorry."

"Let's not make any decisions tonight," Chuck suggested. "We'll talk to the group tomorrow and figure out the best way for you to join the team. We might want you to keep your standing as a CIA agent. That might come in handy. We'll be in touch in the next day or so. Deal?"

Carina was clearly impressed. "Do I get to meet this Orion?" she asked. "I'm looking forward to that. Or do I have to earn some trust first?"

"You don't have to earn any trust," Chuck said. "If we didn't trust you, we wouldn't be here. Of course you get to meet Orion. I'm afraid that the experience is not going to be as impressive as your imagination is probably leading you to believe."

"We'll see," Carina said as she headed for her place on the sofa. "We have a deal."

"Thank you, Chuck. You won't regret this."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck wasn't sure about Sarah's mood. She was a very hard person to read. He was pretty sure that she was pissed. She hadn't said two words to him since last night. After Carina had left, he decided it was time to take his lumps and get it over with. Hopefully that wouldn't include getting kicked in the testicles. That seemed to be one of her favorite punishments. But if it happened, he had taken Carina's side over his wife's on something important. He probably had a kick coming. So he faced her. "Are you mad at me?" he asked.

Chuck wasn't sure what to expect. But the kiss she was currently plopping on him probably wasn't high on the list of possibilities. It was one of those magical kisses between a husband and wife, affectionate… loving… not sexual at all. And it lasted for a long, long moment. When she finally pulled back, her upper lip was noticeably quivering. "I always seem to underestimate you," she said, trying hard to keep her voice from breaking. "I'm so sorry. I have to find a way to stop doing that."

Chuck recognized that she was close to breaking down. He just wasn't sure why. He also recognized that she was desperately fighting crying in front of him. So he pulled her in close and rubbed her naked back while trying to keep the mood light. "How's that?" he asked playfully.

"Damn it, Chuck," Sarah said. "This is serious. I'm trying to tell you something important here."

Chuck was a little surprised at the harshness of her tone. Then again, he had studied her for the past year. She was frustrated with herself. When Sarah got frustrated, that quickly turned to anger. He had seen it a thousand times. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I'm listening. Take your time."

"I'm sorry that I sounded harsh," Sarah sighed, her words a little muffled by the t-shirt Carina had finally rather reluctantly surrendered. "I didn't mean it like that. You're such a good guy. You're perfect. You looked out for me yesterday in a way… in a fundamental way that no one has ever come close too. It was the best day of my life. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me," Chuck insisted. "I didn't do anything that I didn't want to do. Yesterday was a great day for me too. Shouldn't a husband look out for his wife a little? I had a blast watching you have such a good time. You were right about Carina. I had misjudged her."

"I wasn't really finished," Sarah said. "I always knew that you were the nicest man in the world. I knew that I loved you. But I wasn't prepared for how much I would love being married to you. I love everything about it. I love laughing all day and making love all night. It's so different than my life before, so different than even what I fantasized about. I love it so much that it scares me. I feel like you're getting cheated."

"I'm sure not getting cheated," Chuck insisted.

"You are," Sarah insisted. "You're always telling me how much you love me. Then you keep doing these amazing things that prove it. Last night was just the latest example. We were going to spend the rest of the night seeing how macho you could be. You had full permission to use your new powers to their fullest extent. You won a prize that granted you the right to demand almost anything… wild sex… parading your blonde conquest around… whatever you wanted. Bryce would have had me in every sexual position known to man. So what did you do? You looked out for me. I'm bad with words. I don't have a good way to tell you how I really feel about you. When I use sex, it feels like I'm cheating you. That's something I would have given Bryce to pay him off. But it's so different with you. I don't have a way to tell you that. I'm so sorry."

"Stop being sorry," Chuck said. "Do you really think I don't get how you feel about me? We're different people. We express ourselves in very different ways. I babble on and on about silly things. You're the strong, silent type. That's who we are. I'm not sure why you're scared. Things are just as great for me. I think you'd be happier if you could just relax and enjoy it. I get that's hard for you, but please stop worrying about how you express yourself. I get you. Maybe we can work on it. Besides, you look out for me just as much."

"I'm trying to look out for you," Sarah sighed. "I'm trying hard to keep up with you. Chuck, you're just so good at it. I've never known anyone like you. Bryce would have had an agenda last night. He'd have been keeping a tab all night on how much I owed him… and after a brief but tense negotiation, I'd be on my knees performing my first task to pay him off. Worrying that you're going to turn into him is ridiculous. It's insulting. It's stupid. I'm embarrassed. I'm never going to do it again. I need you to help me work on relaxing more. I'm afraid that it's not exactly my nature."

"That's exactly why we needed last night," Chuck said. "It helped us. We both had fun. It's something we're going to do regularly. If we're going to fight this family war, we're going to set aside some time just for us. Believe it or not, this is the happiest time of my life. They're not going to rob that from us. We're not going to turn into my parents. I'm putting my foot down."

"Agreed," Sarah said. "Please don't worry that we're going to turn into your parents. That's just as stupid. It's not going to happen. We're not going to let it happen."

"Agreed," Chuck said. "Let's get something clear. I get that Bryce is the only thing you have to compare me too. At first, that sometimes made me jealous. Now, I actually like it. He's been such an ass, that I come off pretty good in comparison. But I'm not Bryce. This isn't a negotiation. I'll never, ever want you to use sex as a payoff. But having said that, we are newlyweds. We're both pretty much naked. We do have to mark our first hotel room as a married couple, wouldn't you agree?"

That finally got Sarah laughing. "I do agree," she said. "I was hoping you'd think of it. It's a moral imperative. There is also the open question of what the Intersect can do in the sack that needs to be answered."

"Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone."

x-x-x-x-x


	13. The Seduction of Ted Roark

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: This is still going to get dark. Not in a sex or adult situations way. The story will be pretty tame in that regard. But Beckman and Graham ordered a law abiding American citizen to be murdered… simply because he was an inconvenience for them. I don't see how the writers could possibly expect us to like or trust them after that._

 _So expect a serious war. Ellie, and especially Sarah, are pissed. They aren't going to take any prisoners. Neither is the CIA. There will be multiple character deaths._

 _Don't let the title of this chapter fool you. No, wait. Let it fool you. I enjoy that, lol._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **The Seduction of Ted Roark**

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck grinned as he watched his new, beautiful, and always in control, wife snoring, sprawled out rather ungracefully on the bed. Since the brilliant early afternoon sunshine had the hotel room looking rather bright, that was… more than unusual. So he reached down and placed a soft kiss on her shoulder. "Sarah," he said as he shook that shoulder gently. "Come on."

Sarah didn't open her eyes. She didn't even really fully open her mouth. He wasn't sure if her response was a word or a groan. "Agggggggggg," she slurred as she instinctively rolled over onto her back into the position she had become very accustomed to in the past few hours. "Again with collecting your prize? So soon? Really?"

Chuck knew that taunting his trained tiger wasn't the smartest thing to do. He just couldn't help it. "Admit it," he teased. "It is possible to overdo the sex thing."

Sarah still didn't open her eyes. "You're so going to pay for that," she mumbled. "You don't know me at all, do you? I won't admit it. Never. I'll die first. I'm just a little… um, tired. When I offered it, I guess that I didn't realize how huge that prize really was. But fair is fair. Why don't you get things started? I'll catch up in a minute."

"Gee," Chuck said sarcastically. "As truly exciting as that sounds, we don't have time right now. Ellie called. Dad wants us to come home for a briefing. We have a mission."

"You can sleep in the car."

x-x-x-x-x

Apparently, the thought of a mission was currently more attractive to Sarah than the thought of sex. Because after a quick cup of coffee, followed by an even quicker shower, she perked up substantially. In fact, they weren't in the car very long at all before she reached over and punched Chuck in the arm.

Maybe Chuck exaggerated the effect a little. It wasn't her full power punch. She wasn't trying to damage him. It was more to get his attention. But it most definitely wasn't a love tap either. And he couldn't even take his other hand off the steering wheel to rub it. "Damn!" he exclaimed. "What was that for? That hurt."

"That was today's reminder that your tiger isn't completely tame yet," Sarah replied, her grin stretching from ear to ear. "I told you that you were going to pay. Using the power of your Intersect to ravage me with continuous sex until I was exhausted… well, that was the unbelievably amazing part. Taunting me about it after… not so much."

In spite of the pain in his arm, Chuck couldn't help but grin. "So," he said. "Not that I'm looking forward to getting punched again… but you liked it? I think I deserve to hear how much… at least once. Don't you?"

Sarah shook her head as she laughed. "You really don't get the concept of being careful around wild tigers, do you? I'm never taking you to the zoo. The Mirage in Vegas is also out."

"I love the zoo," Chuck teased. "We have to go sometime. Besides, the tigers at the zoo are all in cages. Sarah, would it really be so hard for you to stroke my ego a bit and tell me how much you enjoyed the Intersect's performance in the sack? It was giving me moves I'd never even imagined existed. It was impressive, if I do say so myself. Afraid I'm going to get a big head?"

That didn't get the laugh Chuck was expecting. In fact, Sarah turned serious. "That's not it," she said. "Chuck, this is… complicated. I'm not good with words. The very last thing I want would be to say this the wrong way and hurt your feelings. So can you let me finish before you react?"

Chuck was clearly surprised by her reaction. He knew that she was being serious. "Of course," was his simple reply.

"Please don't take this the wrong way," Sarah pleaded. "I'm more than willing to stroke your ego sometimes. You deserve it. It wouldn't even be an exaggeration. It was very impressive. I enjoyed being the Intersect's blonde conquest… at least the first five times or so. I'll admit that I wore down a little after that. But it was fun. I wouldn't mind playing that role again every once in a while when you're in the mood."

Sarah paused a moment to judge his reaction. "Sex is suddenly very, very, very important to me," she continued. "And I'm struggling with how to explain why. It's a very new feeling for me. A week ago, I wouldn't have been able to say that. Until this week, the last time I had sex was over a year ago. And the sad truth is, I really didn't miss it. Now if we go without for even a few hours, I start going crazy. And it's all because of you. It's not possible for you to overdo it. I love everything about being married. But I especially love our sex life. I look forward to it. Chuck, for the past year, I would lie in bed almost every night and daydream about what it would be like. But the reality blows my daydreams away. We just click in bed. I love how generous and tender and almost bashful you are. I'm so happy that you're being aggressive. It's a wonderful surprise. Whenever you make a move, I literally get weak in the knees. That's also a brand new, wonderful thing for me. I love how you make sure to take care of me in bed. That's a first for me. I love how openly appreciative you are when I take care of you. I don't want to lose any of that. But with the Intersect in charge, it was just sex… very good sex… but it was still different. So I would prefer that we mostly keep our sex life natural, just between us, and maybe find some other way for the Intersect to impress me."

Sarah paused again for a long moment. "Please be honest with me," she finally continued. "Are you mad? Disappointed?"

"So," Chuck said carefully. "You're saying that you prefer making love with me as opposed to the mechanical sex generated by the Intersect?"

Sarah just nodded. "It felt like I was cheating on you," she said. "And I know that I wasn't. It still felt… odd. I didn't like that feeling... at all."

Chuck couldn't hide the grin any longer. "And you thought that I would take that badly?" he mocked. "You really aren't good with words, are you? I don't think you could have possibly said anything better to me. Just a word of caution… if you're trying to avoid giving me a big head… you're going about it all wrong."

That finally got Sarah laughing again. "I don't mind stroking your ego," she repeated. "I think you need a little more confidence about us. It's one area where I'd prefer that you get arrogant. Actually, when I really think about it, I don't mind stroking your anything."

"Maybe we can wait until after our mission and I'll prove that to you."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck took a quick glance as she sided into him and snuggled intimately. Since he was pulling the heavy suitcase that was filled with fake hundred dollar bills, with his free arm, he could do little to fend her off. "Is this really necessary?" he asked. "I get that we're a couple."

"I'm afraid so," Carina said. "For one thing, you're incredibly sexy in that drug lord outfit. Daddy, I thought we went over this in the briefing. We're not a couple. You're a drug lord. I'm not your girlfriend. I'm your arm candy. You give me endless coke and in return I give you… well, anything you want. I'm bought and paid for. You own me. Let me explain the culture… again. Drug lords are the epitome of macho. They all have an arm candy babe. They have an odd relationship with them. They pamper them with expensive presents and, in a lot of ways, treat them like queens… if you can overlook the 'keeping them hooked on cocaine' part. They're incredibly possessive of them. Any man who looks at them the wrong way often finds a knife sticking out of his throat. But they also love to show them off. It's a status symbol. She understands that her job is to always make him look good. They expect her to dress in next to nothing and rub up against him, always available to be felt up in public. It's not unusual that he'll offer her to a colleague for a quick service in the back room, just to show off her willingness to do anything he would ask. She's expected to be enthusiastic."

"Okay," Chuck groaned. "I get it… Miss Eye Candy. I didn't expect you to join the team quite this fast." It was even more than that. Chuck expected he would have to do some serious talking to get Dad to agree to add another CIA agent to his team. And he did ask some pointed questions about her. But Sarah was finally able to assure him. So here she was… walking down the street, dressed like a hooker while rubbing her chest conspicuously against his arm. "I still can't believe that Sarah would be okay with you taking her place on a mission, especially once she saw how you were dressed."

"Why?" Carina asked. "Blondie knows that this drug culture is my turf. She understands how important this assignment is and what my role is. And we have an understanding. I'm no threat to her. I'm probably the only woman on the planet who could rub her, mostly naked, chest on you like this without sending her on a three state killing spree. She gets that you feeling me up wouldn't be sexual, it would be protecting a cover. In fact, why don't you reach over and get this over with? You saw them plenty last night."

"Okay," Chuck sighed. "I get that you're teasing. Here's the deal. You don't need for me to tell you that you're beautiful. Men probably tell you that more than you want to hear. I consider myself an average, healthy male. So, yes, I do recognize that you're amazingly beautiful. But here is the honest truth. I love her. I never want Sarah to have even a passing thought that I might be looking at another woman, much less feeling her up, mission or not. She doesn't deserve that. It's not happening. If this is some sort of test, I'm going to pass with flying colors. I know that you two were messing with me last night. I fear that I now have a lifetime of that to look forward to."

"I'm afraid that you're right about the teasing," Carina teased. "It's not a test. We're past that. So here's the honest truth right back at you. She has it even worse than you do. It's almost like she's a different person. I saw her laugh more last night than the years we were partners put together. That's why I'm a better choice for this mission. I'm not in love with you. You're not in love with me. We all know that you'd never be okay with offering Sarah's services to a colleague or make a big macho show of feeling her up in public. The bad guys would be able to see it on your face. Hopefully, you'll be far less protective of me. And, Daddy, let me say this again. These are not reasonable people. They don't belong to a country club. They didn't survive this long by being overly trusting. If we blow our cover before it's time, they will happily shoot you in the head and dump your body in the bay. Before they shoot me in the head, they'll pass me around a few times. It would be rather unpleasant. Let's try really hard to avoid that, okay?"

"You're really going to call me Daddy?" Chuck sighed. "I think that I actually prefer Chuckles."

Carina grinned at him.

"I'm afraid so."

x-x-x-x-x

Carina was on cloud nine, even more so than last night. "That was the most incredible thing I've ever seen," she gushed. "Why didn't someone tell me? Chuckles, you were amazing. If I hadn't seen it happen with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. There were twenty men there with automatic weapons. They were unconscious before they knew what was happening. They didn't stand a chance. I don't think they saw it coming. You didn't need eye candy at all. You barely even felt me up."

Chuck visibly winced. "Again with the Chuckles thing?" he asked in a groan. "Tell Sarah right now that you were teasing. I didn't feel you up at all. I don't need her thinking that."

Fortunately, Sarah wasn't paying any attention anyway. Unfortunately, Ellie was standing right there. "Chuckles," she said approvingly. "I like the ring of that."

"He doesn't mind Chuckles," Carina teased as she bumped shoulders with Chuck playfully. "He hates being called Daddy."

Ellie turned her attention to the two suitcases filled with bag upon bag of pure white cocaine that Casey had just dragged into the living room. "My lord," she said. "How much is all that worth?"

"It depends on who you ask, Dr. Bartowski," Carina said. "Four hundred pounds… if the DEA seized it in a bust, we'd report a street value of about forty million. If you turned it into crack and sold it on the street a dime at a time, you'd probably net about thirty. Fulcrum was getting fifteen. To us, it's worth zero. In fact we have to waste some time destroying it. At least that keeps it out of the kids' noses."

Ellie grinned. "Carina," she said in mock lecture with her hands on her hips. "Are you really going to call me Dr. Bartowski? Should I call you Agent Miller? My name is Ellie. You've just become part of my family. You're my new adopted sister. We have to work on getting to know each other better."

Carina was clearly stunned. But her growing smile and approving nod said that she was just as clearly moved. "I'd like that," she said.

"I love this plan," Chuck teased enthusiastically. "You two will have a lot in common. Ellie loves tequila. She also wants to know how good someone is in bed. I'm sure that Carina here will be able to tell her everything she wants to know… in excruciating detail. You should get along swimmingly."

Since Casey was standing right there, Ellie's face instantly turned beet red. Chuck turned to her and willed the smile from his face. "Call me Chuckles, ever again, even once, and see what happens," he warned his sister, as he watched his obvious warning shot land right between her eyes. Fortunately, the only other person who knew any specifics of Chuck's threat was occupied.

Sarah stood and stared at the four suitcases filled to the brim with bundles of crisp one hundred dollar bills. "How much?" she asked.

"We hit the jackpot," Casey said. "They must have sold a couple of shipments just before we got there. We had to make two trips to load it in the van. We haven't counted it, but it looks like thirty million."

"Thirty million dollars," Sarah said under her breath, clearly in awe, not taking her eyes off the money. "Wow. What are we going to do with it?"

"We're going to spend it," Steven teased. "Come on, Sarah. What else would you do with money? It's really not that good for much else. But first, we're going to use it to drive Ted Roark crazy."

Yesterday, Sarah would have reacted to her new father-in-law teasing her with a, previously totally out of character for Agent Walker, furious schoolgirl blush. Not today. She was too busy staring at the incredible sight of those bundles of neatly packed bills.

Naturally, Casey was very sensitive to his partner's delicate mood and would never want to embarrass her in front of the team, especially given that he was just newly released from her dog house. "Don't tell me," he boomed sarcastically. "Let me guess. This turns you on."

Fortunately for Casey, Sarah found his shot just as hilarious as everyone else and joined in with the group laughing helplessly. "You're right," she was finally able to snort out. "It does turn me on. Fortunately, I have the perfect solution." She walked over to Chuck and grabbed him by the wrist. "You did really well tonight, Daddy. I'm going to keep my promise, take you in the bedroom, and spend the rest of the night stroking your ego."

"Among other things."

x-x-x-x-x

Steven took a quick glance at Carina. "Are you sure that you want to do this?" he asked. "It will mess with his head. But it's also going to be dangerous. If they think you're the Intersect, instead of Chuck, they are going to move heaven and earth looking for you."

Carina flashed the grin that was reserved for making a good first impression with men. "Of course," she said as she reached out and touched his arm. "Thank you for allowing me to join the team. I'd like to make it up to you. Anything that I can do for the great Orion, I'd consider it a privilege. You're so tense. Maybe I can help you relax. You can ask me for anything… anything at all. Try me."

Ellie really didn't know what to think of someone flirting so overtly with her dad, especially someone as beautiful and half dressed as her new friend, Carina. For one thing, she was Chuck's age. That was a little creepy. Then again, she had only met Carina a few hours ago. But she already liked her. Sarah raved about her. That was enough to get her an honest chance. Ellie also recognized that she was a natural flirt. Dad really didn't seem to mind. He was single. And he was tense. If their new teammate could perform some service that got him to relax, that was probably a good thing. Maybe this was even something useful to be rubbed into Mom's face next time they talked. That would be a little justice. So all in all, she flashed her own warm smile as Carina took her spot on the sofa next to him and, more or less, snuggled in.

Dad nodded for Ellie to turn on the camera.

x-x-x-x-x

Ted Roark sat in his office in disbelief. Forty five million dollars, including the value of the cocaine, really wasn't all that much money to one of the richest men in the world. It was a bit more significant for the Fulcrum budget. But even then, being occasionally robbed was just a cost of being in such a lucrative cash only business with such shady characters. Of course, whoever was responsible needed to be caught and tortured to death on video tape… for two reasons. One was personal. Nobody stole from Ted Roark. But even more importantly, a message needed to be sent to anyone else thinking about it.

Ted always knew that his ambitions of world domination would require many more resources than any single man could supply, even with one of the largest technology companies in the world, fueled by the genius of his ex-roommate's numerous inventions, behind him. He wanted to make Fulcrum self-sufficient. So cocaine was the obvious answer. It was easy to buy, easy to get into the country, and easy to sell. And with his private army of trained agents, muscle was never a problem. Of course, it was one of those things that sent you to prison if you got caught. But Ted was always smart enough to keep several layers of underlings, willing to go to prison, between him and any criminal activity. They were well compensated and incredibly loyal.

Ted knew that his people would find whoever was responsible. That was a given. They were talented and dedicated. Rules didn't exist for them. They also took losing personally. So, all in all, he wasn't all that worried.

His executive assistant knocked gently on the door and poked her head in the room. "Excuse me, Mr. Roark," she said. "There is an urgent video call waiting for you. He says his name is Steven Bartowski."

One push of a button and Steven, with Carina next to him, appeared on the monitor. "Hello, Ted," Steven said. "Remember me? Allow me to introduce you to my latest invention. She's going to help me recover the money you owe me."

"Tonight was only the beginning."

x-x-x-x-x

The video conference was brief and to the point. As soon as it was over, Roark called his senior team into the room and showed them the tape. "Well?" he asked.

"She was there," one of the men confirmed. "The lights went out. That's all any of us remember. But look at her. How could…"

"It's the enhanced Intersect that Steven was always babbling about," Roark said, more to himself than anybody. "It actually works."

Roark shook the stunned cobwebs out of his head and turned to his men. "They're going to hit us again," he said. "Set a trap. I want her." Everyone in the room recognized that tone. It meant that there was zero wiggle room in his expectations. Ted Roark didn't deal with disappointment well. Someone always paid a huge personal price.

"Bring her to me alive."

x-x-x-x-x


	14. The Twist You Didn't See Coming

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: I've been telling you that this is going to get dark. This chapter is the start of that._

 _This is a serious war. There will be multiple character deaths._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **The Twist You Didn't See Coming**

x-x-x-x-x

Bryce finally walked up the drive to his townhouse. It had already been a long day… and it wasn't even half over yet. Normally, Bryce would have looked forward to being home. A deep undercover spy didn't get home very often. Most spies didn't even invest in a home. But this was his safe, happy place… his place to relax. He guarded it fanatically. Sure, when he was here he always got bored after a few days and began to eagerly anticipate the next mission. But this wasn't a spy place. He never brought women here. Even Sarah had only been here a couple of times. She probably never even realized the gesture he was making bringing her here.

Unfortunately, relaxing wasn't in Bryce's future anytime soon. The past two days had been jam packed with planning for the Volkoff mission. There were a million logistical details that had to be dealt with. It was just the kind of administrative grind that he hated. Now it was time to pack and be ready in the morning to head to Russia. He knew that he really didn't have a right to complain. It was the life he had signed up for. And he was steadily climbing his way to the top. But still, it wouldn't hurt to have a couple of days down time someday.

Bryce valued his privacy. Even though it was the middle of the day, the room was dark. When Bryce switched on the light, he found himself starring down the barrel of a gun. That, in itself, wasn't all that unusual. In fact he barely noticed it. "Sarah," he said… his voice no more than a whisper. "You're dead."

Sarah didn't smile, far from it. But she did put away the weapon. "That's what I hear," she said. "Look, I only have a couple of minutes. I need you to do something."

Bryce didn't flinch. "Maybe," he said. "Sarah, what are you doing in Washington? You've gone rogue. We both know that limits what I can do for you. I should arrest you. What do you want?"

"I haven't gone rogue," Sarah said. "Come on, Bryce. You disappoint me. Do you really think that I would go rogue? I had to make them think that for my cover. I've infiltrated Orion's organization. He trusts me. I can deliver him."

Even as surprised as he was, Bryce instantly understood the significance of what Sarah was saying. Being Orion's CIA contact had been huge. Actually delivering him to the welcoming arms of the CIA would be… wow. "He trusts you?" he asked incredulously.

Sarah finally did smile… a little. "He thinks that I'm his daughter-in-law," she said. "Here's a news flash. Orion is Steven Bartowski, Chuck's dad."

Bryce was having a hard time processing the news. "How are you Chuck's dad's daughter-in-law?" he finally asked. "Chuck's dead."

"Chuck's dead just like I'm dead," Sarah replied. "I've had to do some serious work to convince everyone that I was in love and willing to go rogue to be with him. I had to break my #1 mission rule. Actually, Chuck was the easy one to play. You know how gullible he is. He desperately wanted to believe it. The sister was also ready to believe. The dad was a much harder sell."

"So," Bryce said skeptically. "How did you know all of this? You've been playing Chuck and Orion? Chuck thinks you're in love with him? Married?"

"Exactly," Sarah said. "There's no time to get into how right now. I followed a hunch and got a huge break. I'll tell you all about it after he's in custody. But I knew I had to be careful. It fooled you didn't it? It wasn't easy. It's the first time I've actually used sex on a mission. It was… different. And here I thought that you were obsessed with sex. He's much worse. I can't even turn him down. Horny bastard thinks we're on our honeymoon and he's playing that for all its worth. Get this. The geeky traitor forbids me from wearing panties. The sonofabitch actually makes me parade around the house naked, constantly posing for him. He makes you seem like a monk. I can't keep up this act for much longer. That's why I'm here. We have to make our move."

Bryce shrugged his shoulders. "What do you need from me?" he asked.

"Graham," Sarah said. "You're the only two that I trust. I need you to get him here to take custody of Orion. Bryce, this has to be in person. He's the only one who can know anything about this. If you try and contact Graham any way other than standing in his office, Orion will pick up on it and all of the sacrifice I've put into this will be wasted. I'll meet you two here in two hours… with Orion."

A sound coming from the bedroom caused Bryce to flinch.

"Don't worry," Sarah said. "That's just my insurance policy." She opened the bedroom door and pulled Ellie into the room. Her hands were cuffed behind her back. Her hair looked disheveled. There was even a mouse forming under her left eye.

"Sarah, please," Ellie pleaded as the tears streamed down her face. "I'm begging you. Don't do this."

With her hands secured behind her back, Ellie had no way to avoid Sarah's backhanded slap. It took her a couple of staggering steps to keep from falling to the floor. "Shut the fuck up," Sarah spat. "We had a deal. You're trying my patience. Do you want the gag back on?"

Ellie just shook her head sadly.

Bryce reached up and gently stroked the red spot on her face where Sarah had just slapped it with the back of his hand. "Dr. Bartowski," he said softly. "This is very disappointing. Why are you mixed up in this?"

"Come on, Bryce," Sarah said pointedly. "Don't go getting soft on me. You can't feel sorry for her. She's a traitor. Her whole family are traitors. You know how I feel about traitors. The bitch is getting off easy."

Ellie turned to Sarah. "Can I answer him?' she asked softly.

When Sarah nodded, Ellie turned to Bryce. "Fuck you!" she said. She turned away defiantly. "Fuck both of you."

Suddenly Sarah was in Bryce's arms. "I'm really sorry for icing you for the past couple of weeks," she said. "That was hard for me. But they were watching. I had to sell it. They had to think I was heartbroken. The good news is that I did it for us. This is going to put us right back on top… the best team in the world. Please tell me that you missed me as much as I missed you." She leaned in and kissed him.

Whenever Sarah initiated a kiss, it was always hard... purposeful… indicating that she was ready to pay off her current debt… and directly preceding clothes being torn off. Not this time. It was different… gentle. As soon as the long kiss broke, Bryce grinned. "Did I hear you right before?" he asked. "He forbids you from wearing panties? I'm impressed. I didn't think Chuck had that in him. Does that mean you aren't wearing any now?"

For the first time, Sarah's smile was relaxed as she watched Bryce's hand slide into her shirt, as it usually did whenever he had an opening. Historically, it was fifty-fifty if he would come away with a sore hand. This time, she shifted her position a little to give him a better angle. "We don't have time right now for you to find out," she said playfully.

"Come on," Bryce whined. "It's been a year. You're asking me to do some hard work. Graham values his schedule. He isn't going to appreciate being dragged out of his office in the middle of the day. I think I deserve a reward."

"You want to negotiate?" Sarah asked as she paused for a moment allowing him free reign before finally pulling his hand out from playing with her breast. "Why am I surprised? Okay, let's negotiate. For one thing, Graham is going to be all over this. But I'll sweeten the pot. Come through for me here, and once Orion's in custody I'll have Graham spring for another week in Cabo. This time, you'll be in charge."

That got Bryce's attention. "In charge?" he asked. "What does that mean?"

"It's what you've always asked for," Sarah said. "The kinky sex jackpot. Whatever you want from me, all week, you get with a smile… nothing off the table… no questions asked."

"Really?" Bryce asked skeptically. "I hope you know how intense that will get. Why are you agreeing now after laughing at me for so long?"

"Really," Sarah confirmed. "Look, I've learned some things about myself in the past month. I'm sorry that I laughed at you. You were right. I need to loosen up and follow your lead more. If I'm willing to play sex toy for the traitor Bartowski, it's only fair that I do it for you. You'll have earned it."

Sarah paused for a moment to gauge his reaction. "I shudder to think of what you're going to come up with," she finally teased with a growing grin. "You're probably going to insist that I screw half of Mexico while you watch. I'll probably need another week to relearn how to walk properly again. But the honest truth is, I'm actually looking forward to you pushing my limits. I think too much. I'm too uptight. So for the week, whatever you want, I'm not going to think about it. I'm just going to do it. I know that I don't have to tell you this. But this is your week. It's not going to happen very often. So don't hold anything back. Bring all of your fantasies out to play. The more intense that you make this, the better."

"You know that I'll do almost anything for that," Bryce said knowingly. "This must really be important to you."

"It is important to me," Sarah insisted. "Isn't it important to you? We're going to be together again. We're going to be back on top of the mountain. We'll get to pick any plum assignment we want for years and years. We need to hurry and close this deal before it slips away."

"I'll meet you back here in two hours."

x-x-x-x-x

It was a little less than two hours before Bryce was leading Graham into his townhouse. Sarah was already standing there waiting for them. "Agent Walker," Graham said. "It's very nice to see that you're still alive… and more importantly, still loyal. That's a nice surprise. Where is Orion?"

"I'm afraid that I have some bad news," Sarah replied. "Agent Walker is dead. I'm no longer Agent Walker. I just look like her. I wasn't able to get Orion. But I did bring Chuck." Indeed Chuck stepped out of the bedroom grinning.

"I have some even worse news," Sarah continued. "I'm afraid that you've just walked into a trap."

Bryce cursed himself silently. He had allowed himself to be played. He instinctively reached for his gun. He was only about half way there before Casey had stepped out of the kitchen and had the barrel of his gun resting on Bryce's ear. Carina appeared right behind him. "He's a pretty good shot," she said as she relieved Bryce of his weapon, before relieving Graham of his. "I doubt that he would miss at this range."

Both men could easily see the weapons pointed at them from three expert spies. They really had no choice but to raise their hands in surrender.

Sarah stepped up to Bryce. "I'm afraid that I lied to you," she said. "Sorry about that. Well, actually, I'm not that sorry. It just seemed like the thing to say. Consider it a small payback for all of the times that you lied to me. Chuck told me that offering you kinky sex would be enough to get you to turn off your brain… and he was right."

Sarah stepped up to Chuck and kissed him. It was even more than that. She was clearly making a point because the mini make out session lasted a long moment. "Let me tell you both something about this man who you were prepared to kill because he was an inconvenience," she said. "He's amazing. In our… um, in your world, being nice means you're weak. Not Chuck. He's nice without it making him weak. In fact, it's what makes him great. He cares about people, even people who might be his enemies, always looks for the good in them. I could tell you that I'm in love with him… but that sounds pathetically weak. The truth is, even he really doesn't know yet how strongly I feel about him, because I don't have the words to tell him."

Sarah paused for a moment to regain her composure. "That's something I'm dedicating myself to work on," she continued. "Fortunately, I have the rest of my life to work on it. First, I'm going to have to spend a few days thanking him for understanding. He knew that you were going to kiss me and put your hand inside of my shirt while I planted the wire on you. You never saw it coming and now we know that no one else knows our secret. But no husband should ever have to listen to that. Bryce, some of the things I told you to get you here were true. We are married. We are on our honeymoon. I'd say that he is _pretty obsessed with sex_ … but not half as much as I am. He does forbid panties, except in special circumstances. But that was actually my idea. And, no, Bryce. For the record, I'm not wearing any now. I'd prove it to you except that view is now reserved exclusively for him. He does playfully insist that I stay mostly naked around the house. I'm more than happy to oblige. Posing for him is one of the things in life that I most look forward to now. Watching him get aroused makes me weak in the knees. He treats me like a princess, puts me on a pedestal. He would never, ever ask me for any of the sick things you'd demand. But here is the irony. If he ever did ask me for anything…absolutely anything, he'd get it with a smile."

Ellie could see Casey becoming increasingly uncomfortable as Sarah's rant turned more and more graphic. So she stopped it by stepping up and throwing a kick directly into Graham's groin. "You were going to kill my brother, you sonofabitch," she growled. "You wanted a war with my family? Well, be careful what you wish for." Then she turned to her new spy mentor. "How was that?"

"Not bad," Carina said, nodding with approval. "I don't think he'll be going dancing anytime soon. Don't forget to snap your ankle just at the point of impact. We'll practice some more later."

Sarah stepped up to Graham, who had lowered his hands and was trying to ride out the effects of Ellie's kick. "I never thought that I'd be standing here with you," she said. "You were my mentor. You saved me from prison and got me through the academy. I admired you… looked up to you. There was a time when I would have eagerly done absolutely anything you asked of me… anything… professionally or personally."

Sarah paused for a long moment to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I honestly thought that you cared for me as much as I did you," she finally continued. "I'm embarrassed at how wrong I was. Finding out about your betrayal hurt worse than anything else in my life."

"I do care for you," Graham protested. "You've always been my favorite agent."

"Right," Carina mocked. "Was that before you issued her termination order? Or after?"

Sarah paused again to compose herself. "I could probably learn to forgive you betraying me," she said. "All that does is make you an ass. What I can't forgive is you ordering the love of my life killed. I get that this is a brutal business. Frankly, if it was up to me, I would have enjoyed making you suffer for a while. Thank my nice guy, Chuck here, for this being quick and merciful."

Sarah wasted little time. The silencer on her gun muffled most of the sound. Her first shot hit Graham directly behind his ear. It was a clear kill shot. His body silently slumped to the floor. "That was for justice," she said.

Bryce knew that he was next. He thought about trying to talk her out of this. But that would just be weak. At least he would die with dignity. After all, this was the game they played. It was only a matter of time. Agent Larkin had lasted longer than most. But he had just rolled snake eyes. He wasn't afraid. You didn't become a CIA agent if you were afraid to die. So he just looked Sarah in the eye as she aimed her weapon.

"I guess this means I'm not getting the week in Cabo," he said with as much smile as he could muster.

"At least now I don't have to go to Russia."

x-x-x-x-x

Finally, they were back home. It took a while for Ellie to confirm they were both dead, and even longer to drag Fulcrum's cocaine into Bryce's living room. It was a win-win. Now they didn't have to dispose of two hundred pounds of cocaine. And when the authorities found the bodies, they would just assume a drug hit. It wasn't that uncommon for agents to have a coke habit. Graham being the current director might generate some added attention. There would be an investigation. But there wasn't any connection to anybody on the team. Anybody who knew the truth was dead.

Everyone was fairly quiet in the private jet that Orion had somehow acquired. In fact, Chuck took a nap. Sarah didn't sleep, but she did snuggle with him. Once the jet touched down, it was a short drive back to Chuck and Sarah's place, which was serving as an impromptu command center.

As soon as they were in the living room, Chuck wrapped Sarah in his arms. "Are you okay?" he asked, as he gently rubbed her back.

Sarah really wasn't in a happy mood. She had just executed two men. Both had played prominent roles in her life. She had once called both friends, had once put her very life in their hands. But she couldn't help the smile as she recognized the protectiveness in his voice. If she had needed one, it was today's reminder of what she already knew. She had probably never felt closer to him. "I'm fine," she said. "I'm a little worried about you."

"Don't worry about me," Chuck said. "You were exactly right. Today was about justice. We didn't start this war. We want to live in peace and start our family. They are not giving us a choice. What we want can't happen until we finish this. Bryce going to Russia just accelerated the timetable. That's ultimately a good thing. I have to tell you something. I want this to happen so badly."

That changed Sarah's smile into a grin. "Not half as much as I do," she said. "Sweetie, I know that you're worried about me wanting a family. That wasn't in my life plan a few… well ever. You don't have to be. I'll admit, the thought of being a mom scares me a little. But I'm going to get over it because, believe it or not, I want it more than you do. I can't wait to see you as a dad."

Casey's disgusted grunt reminded the newlyweds that they were not alone. "Don't forget," he interrupted. "We have a deal. I get Beckman."

Casey's obvious and rather lame attempt to change the increasingly intimate subject broke the mood in the room and got everyone laughing.

"So," Steven said. "I take it that things went well?"

Carina flashed her flirty smile at him. "It was perfect," she said. "They bought it hook, line, and sinker. I always knew that Bryce would be easy. Promise him some wild sex and he would shut off his brain. He would have eaten a roll of aluminum foil to find out if she was wearing panties. I assumed Graham was a little smarter. Guess not."

"That reminds me," Chuck said, taking Sarah's hands lovingly into his own. "Thank you for what you told Bryce about me. That helped me. For the record, I don't think you're a princess. You're a goddess. It was very nice."

"It was beyond sickening," Carina teased. "I think that I threw up in my mouth a little. Poor Casey here looked like he was about to pass out. Even Ellie was looking a little green. And the worst part is that she meant every word of it. She sounded like a lovesick schoolgirl. And like you would ever ask her for twisted sex games like Bryce. Give me a break."

Sarah grinned at her best friend. "I am a lovesick schoolgirl," she said.

Chuck knew that he had to do something to counter Carina's incessant teasing at his expense, or it would just encourage her to go farther. He just couldn't come up with anything. She had an unfair advantage. She apparently knew everything about him, courtesy of her best friend. Sarah clearly confided in her with intimate details. But he knew practically nothing about her. "Wait a minute," he protested. "I may not be Bryce Larkin. But I think I have some ideas for interesting sex games."

"Great," Carina replied in faux enthusiasm. "That's good to know. I think the last game that Bryce wanted was to have her pick up a guy from a bar, take him home, and screw him into submission while Bryce watched from a hiding place. Ask her for that. That should get interesting."

Chuck could feel the red rise up his neck in record time. One glance at the red rising up his wife's neck told him that Carina was telling the truth. "That pig," he muttered sadly. He turned to Sarah. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea how sick he was. I would never, ever, ever ask you for something like that. Not only does the idea sound horrible, you should never be disrespected like that. If the sonofabitch wasn't dead, I'd go kick his ass."

Sarah was wrong a few minutes ago. _Now_ she had never felt closer to him. So she reached out and grabbed the hand that he was holding out to her and squeezed it affectionately. "I know," she said with a growing grin. "I'm not sure why you're sorry. You're not Bryce, not even close. You're all kinds of wonderful. Don't worry. He used to ask for disgusting games like that all the time. That one's not even the worst. I'm not sure why. It was probably just a negotiating tactic to see how far he could push me. He knew that he wasn't ever going to get me to play them. My laughing at him almost always started a fight."

Casey looked at the newlyweds, looking into each other's eyes, holding hands, plainly sharing a moment. After a few seconds, he turned to Carina. "Great," he said in disgust. "Look what you've done."

"You've just turned her on."

x-x-x-x-x


	15. The Pizza Party

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: I've been telling you that this is going to get dark. The bad guys have to win sometimes or it's not much of a war. This chapter is going to be darker as the family fights for their survival._

 _There still will be multiple character deaths._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **The Pizza Party**

x-x-x-x-x

The group was still standing in the living room, playfully teasing each other, when Ellie burst in through the front door. Devon followed her tentatively, carrying several boxes of steaming pizza. They hadn't eaten a thing since this morning, when the box of donuts on the jet served as breakfast. Everyone was starved, so the smell from the pizza quickly had their mouths watering. Ellie guided him to the kitchen to drop off his load of food.

Devon had actually never met Steven in person. While Ellie was spending some time introducing her fiancé to his future father-in-law, Carina sided up to Sarah. "Holy fuck," she whispered into Sarah's ear. "Ellie hit the jackpot. He's yummy gorgeous. And he's a doctor too? He must have to beat them off with a stick. Do you think that she shares?"

Naturally, that got Sarah laughing. "You could ask her," she said. "I wouldn't get my hopes up. The thing is, Devon is as nice as he is gorgeous. I think there was a time in his life when he was quite the player. But he's gotten that out of his system. Now he's incredibly dedicated to her. I seriously doubt that you could talk him between the sheets, even if she said it was okay… which is about as likely as me saying it would be okay for you to go after Chuck. It's not going to happen. Besides, he's so not your type. Well, I guess for a second that I forgot about your most important criteria in a man. He is breathing."

"Very funny," Carina replied, joining Sarah in laughing. "Are you seriously challenging my seduction skills? You must know by now how foolish that is. Maybe I can work out a trade. Ellie has the hots for Casey. I've already proven that I can talk Casey into pretty much anything."

"Eww," Sarah said. "Why are you constantly putting images in my brain that I don't want there? I'm not challenging you on anything. Don't go screwing up our family dynamic. I actually think that this conversation is over. If you want to screw someone here, I'm afraid that it's going to have to be Steven."

Carina stopped laughing. "You're saying that like it's a horrible thing," she said. "What's wrong with Steven?"

"First off," Sarah said. "I was teasing. Which part of 'this conversation is over' didn't you understand? Second, he's old enough to be your dad's older brother. Third, he's a nice guy. He doesn't need to be introduced to 'The Man Eater' anytime soon. Are those reasons enough for you? I can probably come up with a hundred more. It's not exactly a romance made in heaven."

"Huh?" Carina asked. "Who said anything about romance? Did getting married really make you forget the past ten years? Did Bryce's hand in your shirt today really freak you out this badly? Did you hit your head on our mission or something and forget who you're talking to? For the record, I would never unleash 'The Man Eater' on him… quite the opposite. I'll admit, he's a hero to me. He's amazing. I find the fact that Orion has fought off the entire world for twenty years all by himself pretty sexy. And you have to admit that his genius is the only reason that we even have a chance. As far as I understand the story, our sorority of CIA sisters haven't treated him all that well. If I could provide him with a service or two on a regular basis that told him how grateful I am, restore his faith in our profession, and maybe even got him to relax a little, I'd consider that an honor. I'd be as gentle as I possibly could and still get the job done."

"Job?" Sarah sighed. "Carina, Steven is not a mark. I'm not a prude. But do you realize what that makes you sound like?"

That got Carina grinning again. "You are a prude," she countered. "You always have been. But now you're even worse… a conservative, married, prude. Next year at this time you'll be running for a seat on the local school board. Can PTA President really be that far behind?"

That got them laughing again. "Maybe," Sarah said. "I'll admit, Madam President Bartowski has a nice ring to it. But my point still remains."

"If Casey hurt his back on a mission, you'd give him a massage, wouldn't you?" Carina asked pointedly. "Is this really that much different? I get that to you I sound like a whore. But let's go back in time a few years and examine your relationship with Graham. You'd have done anything he asked, right? Because you felt that you owed him something, right? Was that a romance? Did it make you a whore? If I remember right, you kept expecting it to happen whenever you had to meet with him alone. If the idea was horrible to you, you were doing a damn fine job at hiding it. Well, Orion has done a lot more for us than Graham ever did for you. If he asked, I'd be happy to step up… or, in this case probably more accurately, kneel down. Unlike you with Graham, I don't mind if he knows that. In fact, I'm going to tell him as plainly as I can without embarrassing him. I'm not ashamed of it at all. I'll find a way to enjoy it. Even Ellie is basically on board with the idea. She maybe didn't want to hear any specifics. But she recognized it would be good for him. I seriously hope that he takes full advantage. I'd like it even more if it could be his idea a little."

The problem with having a best friend that knew everything about you was… well, that she knew everything about you. The mention of Sarah's history with Graham quickly had her blushing. "You're really not going to stop talking about this until you see me hurl, are you?" she groaned. "Being willing is a lot different than being eager. Okay, yes, I was once curious what it would be like. I would appreciate that fact not being rubbed in Chuck's face. I was young. I'd also like to point out that my semi-reluctant willingness to put out for Graham didn't work out so well for me. Maybe things were different at the time, but now I'm very happy that it never happened. And this is my father-in-law we're currently talking about."

"Not really," Carina protested. "We're not talking about Steven. We're talking about Orion… the guy who has Fulcrum and the CIA wetting their collective pants."

"We're talking about the Legend."

x-x-x-x-x

It was beyond odd. They had just finished their second mission as a team. The first one had been pretty simple. This one had been deadly. In fact, the bodies probably hadn't been discovered yet. The war had started in earnest. The body count was going to continue to rise. And yet, here they were, having a pizza party. Maybe that was strategic on Ellie's part. If it was strategic to keep the team mood positive for the tough days ahead, it was brilliant.

Sarah probably didn't have this family night specifically in mind when she furnished the basement. But then again, maybe at some level she did. It was perfect. There was a baseball game on the big screen TV. The pool table and dart board were in constant use. There was even a corner that made a wonderful dance floor.

As it turned out, Ellie liked to dance almost as much as the spies did. Chuck and Devon had little choice but to dance with their ladies every once in a while, whenever a pool stick or dart wasn't in their hands. They were smarter than that. Carina even got Steven on the floor once, but he was so uncomfortable that she didn't push it again. Naturally, Casey would rather eat broken glass than dance, so the girls, especially Ellie, teased him incessantly about it instead. Eventually they gave up and just danced by themselves.

Sarah had never experienced anything like this in her life. She had nothing to compare it to. All she knew was that she was having the time of her life. The other night, dancing at the club with Chuck and Carina, was great, maybe the best night of her life to that point. This was ten times better. No matter your tastes, there was plenty to drink, from tequila to beer to scotch. The pizza was amazing. But more important to Sarah was that this was family. The word even tasted sweet on her tongue. There wasn't a person here who she wasn't quickly coming to love. She was so used to being hit on in bars over the years that she had learned to mostly tune it out. But she had to admit, it felt great not to have to worry about it.

Normally, Sarah would have been very careful about how much she drank. She had learned early that when you were drunk, you were easily taken advantage of. And in her world, there was always someone standing there willing to snatch up that advantage… along with your clothes. Tonight, that didn't apply… and it felt great not to have to worry about it. That turned out to be a good thing because Carina had organized an impromptu tequila shooter contest among the girls. Sarah knew that she would regret this in the morning, but she also knew that she just couldn't let Carina win… at anything. So she found herself matching her new sister and best friend shot for shot. Even Ellie was surprisingly competitive.

The night was magical… filled with laughing and teasing and dancing, as Carina entertained her new friend with wild, downright vivid, and sometimes even a little embellished, stories of the CAT Squad days. Sarah probably enjoyed that as much as Ellie. She even occasionally added a detail that Carina had overlooked. Most of all, tonight was safe.

Steven clearly felt out of place. He was going to leave after they ate, and before the party got out of hand. Carina had her hands full trying to convince him to stay. But it was an unexpected ally that finally turned the tide. Ellie stepped up and gently told her father that if he wanted a family, he had to start acting like it and become part of one. That obviously struck a nerve.

If the girls were having a great time drinking, giggling, and dancing the night away, the guys were not far behind. Devon and Casey, in particular, seemed to hit it off. Chuck was dominating the pool table. But surprisingly, Devon was every bit as dominate with the dart board. Apparently, darts was the recreational activity of choice at the Frat house.

Finally, after several hours, the party was starting to wind down. Since they had gotten up early to fly to Washington, and it was well after midnight, everyone was feeling it. Steven had already made his way up to the single bed that was in Chuck's office. Ellie and Devon were going to sleep in the guest room. That left the living room couch for Carina. She was already dressed in her typical sleepwear, the tiniest pair of mostly invisible panties, and had been for some time. Probably her main target was Steven, but both Casey and Devon took their fair share of peeks.

Finally, Sarah staggered up to Chuck. "Mr. Bartowski," she slurred. "If you don't get that pool cue out of your hands and dance with your wife one last time tonight, we have a big fucking problem."

Chuck wasn't sure what a 'big fucking problem' meant in this context. And he sure didn't want to find out. They hadn't been on the floor for ten seconds before she attacked him and any pretense at dancing was quickly over. It wasn't their best kiss. Frankly, it wasn't even that good. Chuck was almost overwhelmed by the taste of tequila as she, rather uncharacteristically, tried to shove her tongue down his throat. Normally, he would have been reluctant to put on this vivid of a display in public, and Sarah would have been respectful of his reluctance. That was out the window tonight. Chuck really didn't have much choice anyway. Apparently, drunken Sarah was just as strong as sober Sarah. Her hands clasped firmly behind his head had him trapped. Well, trapped probably wasn't the best word. It wasn't as if she was water boarding him.

Finally, the long kiss broke. "That was nice," Sarah sighed, as she snuggled into his chest.

Chuck hadn't been a husband for very long. Maybe he didn't know everything about how to act. But he did know that being completely truthful wasn't always a virtue. "It was very nice," he said with a grin. "How much have you had to drink?"

That got Sarah giggling. She lifted her head from his chest. "Tons and tons," she answered. "I have a serious buzz going on. I can't think. And, Chuck, I think too much. This feels soooo good."

Again, Chuck's newly developed husband instincts kicked in and he resisted the strong temptation to tease her. She had passed buzzed several hours ago. Besides, he found that his mouth was again full as attempt number two to shove her tongue down his throat was already well underway.

Besides, he didn't need to tease her… not with Casey standing there. "Congratulations," Casey said sarcastically. "It looks like you've turned her on… again. Good luck with that."

"Are you okay?" Chuck asked as soon as the long kiss broke.

Sarah was grinning at him again. "My life is perfect," she said. "And you're perfect. I always thought that I was content with my life. But now I find that I was getting cheated all of those years. I was missing out… on so much. Thank you for giving me a family. I'll find a way to tell you how I really feel about you someday. I promise."

Suddenly, without any warning, Sarah turned emotional. "Bryce put his hand inside of my shirt today," she said softly. "I had no choice. I had to stand there and let him do it. I even had to smile, turn, and make it easier for him. I'm not trying to rub your face in that… but you deserve to know. I feel awful."

Chuck tried to be as comforting as he could. "Sarah," he said. "It's okay. We knew it was a strong possibility. We talked about it. Besides, he's dead. You have no reason to feel awful."

Sarah shook her head firmly. "I should feel awful," she insisted. "It's not okay. I kissed my ex while he felt me up. It's something that no husband should ever have to hear about, especially one as perfect as you. I have to go the extra mile to make it up to you. Unfortunately, sex is all I have right now, so it's going to have to be different. Maybe we can go upstairs and I can think of some unique way to show you how sorry I am. I'm in the mood for something that I think you might like."

Chuck was torn. His new husband instincts were a little fuzzy in this situation. So he just pulled her tight as he thought through what to do. Normally it would be hard to turn her offer down. But she was dead drunk. She clearly had a deep seated issue to prove something to him. At some point, they were going to have to talk through and overcome that. He also wasn't sure what she meant by different. Carina being there mostly naked scared him… even more than usual. Hopefully, his drunk wife wouldn't suggest something stupid that he would have to put a stop to, causing her to be really embarrassed once she sobered up… like inviting Carina to join them.

And maybe this last part was a little selfish. But his stunningly beautiful wife currently wasn't so beautiful. It was most definitely the first time he could say that. Her hair was basically a tangled mess. In fact, being massively sweaty and sloppy drunk… emphasis on sloppy, frankly made her a little disgusting. Then again, he sure didn't want to give her the impression that he was rejecting her. Maybe he needed to step up for her and ignore the disgusting part. It wasn't as if anybody would feel very sorry for him. Going to bed with Sarah on her worst day couldn't be considered much of a sacrifice.

Fortunately, he was spared the tough decision as he looked down and felt her snoring against his chest. So he just scooped her up in his arms and headed for the stairs. "I'll take a rain check on the wild sex," he teased, knowing full well that she couldn't hear him. "Maybe some time when you're sober."

"You can owe me one."

x-x-x-x-x

Diane Beckman sat in the dark parking garage and tried to keep her hand from shaking. There were parts of her job that she hated, and this was most definitely at the top of the list. Beckman knew all about protocol and procedures. She had risen up the ranks of the military by following then religiously. But she also knew that, at this level, she also sometimes needed some resources that were off the books.

That was especially true in the search for Orion. Process and procedure hadn't worked. For the past twenty years, whenever they planned something, he clearly knew about it at about the same time they did. He was always three steps ahead of them… and he took great joy at rubbing their faces in it. Calling it frustrating was a silly understatement. But she finally had just caught a huge break. The man that she had unofficially sent to infiltrate Fulcrum two years ago had just reported… and what a report it was. He had hit the jackpot. Orion had just contacted Ted Roark, bragging about his new Intersect. If he was to be believed… and there was no reason to doubt it, Orion had perfected version 2.0. Even better, her guy recognized Orion's new Intersect. Carina Miller. Beckman though about it for a long time. Agent Miller wouldn't have been her first choice. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. The very reasons that would have disqualified Agent Miller in her mind for such as important role, namely that she was an uncontrollable, loose cannon cowboy, would probably be attractive to Orion.

One thing was for sure, if Orion had perfected Intersect 2.0 and Agent Miller now was one, the stakes had been raised substantially. Having a fleet of regular Intersects to replace that late simpleton Bartowski was huge. It was going to tip the war in their favor. Having access to some 2.0 superspies would be a hundred times more valuable. Agent Miller simply had to be found. But it was just back to the same frustrating problem, the CIA was helpless to find her. Whatever they had planned, Orion would be three steps ahead of them, laughing at them.

That's why she was in this deserted parking lot at two in the morning. It was the only time Yuri would meet.

Diane Beckman was a hardcore soldier. She wasn't really afraid of anything. But she was afraid of Yuri… and Yuri knew it. At first, he was just another small time hood… the kind she usually loved to crush like a bug. But Yuri somehow found out some very interesting information about some very important people. It made him untouchable… and he knew it.

Every single time that she met with him, she vowed it would never happen again. In fact, she was already sick to her stomach. But he was effective for these purposes. He had forgotten more about torture than the CIA ever knew. And he wasn't encumbered by silly things like interrogation rules. He loved his work, enjoyed hurting people… especially women.

Finally he was there. Beckman got out of the car to meet him. "You have something for me?" Yuri asked.

Beckman winced as she smelled his breath and the gurgling in her stomach turned up several notches. She fought back the guilt as she handed him the file. This was not going to be pleasant. Agent Miller was one of hers. Turning her over to this sub-human like this was hard. When Yuri was done with someone, they were begging to die. But it was the only way. "Her name is Carina Miller," she said. "She needs to be motivated to answer my questions."

Yuri opened the file. "She's pretty," he said. "This is going to be fun. I trust that my payment will be deposited today?"

Beckman knew that she had to get out of there… or vomit right in front of him. So she turned to the car and hoped he would just let her leave. Fortunately, he did. Her hands were shaking so badly that she had a hard time opening the door. Yuri was an expert at this. He would get her in a position where she was helpless and spend a couple of days breaking her. Still, he didn't know anything about the Intersect. If Agent Miller was a 2.0, it was very possible that she might be able to fight Yuri off, maybe even kill him. Frankly, at this point, Beckman wasn't sure which she was rooting for. So she got in the car with a simple warning.

"She may give you some trouble."

x-x-x-x-x


	16. Spy Instincts

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: I've been telling you that this is going to get dark. The bad guys have to win sometimes or it's not much of a war. This chapter is going to be darker as the family fights for their survival._

 _There still will be multiple character deaths._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **Spy Instincts**

x-x-x-x-x

"I'm sorry. I thought you'd be in bed."

Steven glanced up from Chuck's computer screen. "I don't sleep much," he said. "Come in. Can I help you with something?"

Carina stepped into the darkened room grinning. For being a genius, he obviously hadn't figured out why she would be here if she thought he would be in bed. "Not really," she said playfully. "I just wanted to thank you… for all of this… for all the things you've done over the years."

"You don't have to thank me. But you're welcome."

Carina sauntered further into the room to stand next to him. Her grin ticked up a beat as she touched his arm. "Not so fast. I really haven't thanked you properly yet. The 'thank you' that I have in mind is going to take a while."

Suddenly, the epiphany hit and Steven realized what she meant. Then he looked closer and realized that she was basically naked. "Are you serious? I'm old enough to be your father."

Carina's smile lit up the mostly darkened room. "That's actually a funny story," she said as she sat on the edge of the bed. "I don't have a father. Well, I guess technically everyone has a father. I'm not claiming any immaculate conception. But I've never met him. The CIA psyche guys say that growing up without a male role model caused me to adopt a promiscuous lifestyle. They said that I use sex to get the affection from men that I lacked from my father as a child. Personally, I think they're full of crap. They're not taking into account that I found out that I really like sex. Even if their over-compensation theory is true, it turned out to be a good thing, it really helped me in the Academy. So, yeah, Steven, I'm very serious. I always take sex very seriously. Anyway, about our age difference… My mom never liked to talk about it much, but it sounds like I'm the accidental product of a one night stand. So I really don't know how old he is. All I do know is that he probably had red hair. But to your point, you're actually a few years older than my mom. So what?"

"Doesn't that sound a little creepy to you?" Steven asked. "An old guy like me hitting on someone young and beautiful like you?"

That got Carina laughing. "You're not hitting on me," she said. "I don't think you're paying attention. I'm trying to get you to hit on me. If anything, I'm hitting on you. It doesn't sound at all creepy to me. And thank you for calling me beautiful. That's always nice to hear from someone who you're trying to get naked."

"Well, you have to admit," Steven protested. "It doesn't sound very romantic."

"It's not romantic at all," Carina agreed, still laughing. "It's not intended to be romantic. You're starting to sound just like Sarah." After a moment, Carina turned more serious. "Steven, I'm not offering you romance," she said. "I wouldn't even know how to do that. I don't think you're looking for a girlfriend. If you are, I can't be her. I'm not looking for a boyfriend. That's not who I am… or ever will be. I'm offering you a good time… a thank you in the form of some hot, wild, monkey sex with no strings. Not to brag, but I usually don't have to offer this twice. I have it on good authority that it's a core competency of mine. I've never had any complaints so far."

That got them both laughing. "Now _that_ I believe," Steven said. "Do you think you could put on a shirt or something? It's hard for me to talk to you when you're naked."

"I'm afraid not," Carina replied, still laughing. "I want it to be hard, nothing off-color intended. We've already talked too much about this. Being naked is my main weapon to get you in a mood to be seduced. I want you blushing. Not only is it cute, it tells me what I need to know. Look, Steven. No offense, but I think that you're over thinking this. I'm told that it runs in your family. Sarah calls me a whore. I understand what she means. But it's not like that. I'm not offering you anything that I don't want. And yes, the reason I want it isn't romance. In fact, most of why I'm here is because you're a huge hero to me. But I'm going to enjoy this… if for no other reason than I'll have provided a very much needed service for someone I admire."

Steven sat up. "Sarah calls you a whore?" he asked, clearly angry. "No one should call you a whore. I'll talk to her."

Carina kept smiling. "Thanks," she said. "That was sweet. But Sarah didn't actually say that. Whore was my word. By the way, if you ever say a genuinely harsh word to Sarah, be prepared for her to be devastated. She looks up to you. For what it's worth… I do too. You might want to save that for a rainy day."

"I'm not too fond of the CIA," Steven continued. "I make no apology for that. I figured all of its agents were the same as Mary, when it comes right down to it, stone cold, heartless bitches. The plain truth is that I was wrong. You and Sarah aren't what I expected at all. I will apologize for that. So believe me when I say that I look up to you probably more than you do me."

Carina had to pause for a moment to keep her voice from breaking. "You'll never know what that means to me," she answered softly. But eventually her grin returned. "For the record, you have no need to sweet talk me. I'm yours for as long as you want. Don't be embarrassed about asking for a wild fantasy or two. Trust me. It won't be the first time I've heard it. But now that we have that mushy, mutual admiration stuff out of the way, are you going to honor me with some wild monkey sex tonight… or not?"

That got them both laughing. "Not tonight," Steven said. "We've been drinking. Call me old fashioned, but I'd like you to be sober when you make that decision. Ask me again sometime when you're sober and see how fast I take you up on it."

Carina reluctantly stood up. "Okay," she lamented. "I think that the old fashioned thing is a little silly. You're not taking advantage of me. I know what I want, and it has nothing to do with being drunk. But I'll respect your wishes. Trust me. I'm going to remember this conversation."

"I'll see you tomorrow… when I'm sober."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck grinned as he watched his, almost always, larger than life wife. It probably wasn't his finest moment. But somehow, watching her fighting off the effects of a hangover, just like a normal person, stuck him as a little funny. "Are you feeling better?" he asked.

Sarah didn't answer right away. "A little," she finally responded. "The aspirin is finally kicking in. Thank you for rubbing my back and holding my hair out of the toilet when I was puking."

"You're welcome," Chuck said. "I think that's in the official list of husband duties. No, wait. Maybe the back rub is in the list for the labor room. Do you always get this sick after drinking?"

Again, Sarah didn't answer right away. "I don't know," she said. "That's the first time I've ever had that much to drink. I didn't care for the puking part. So that will also probably be the last time."

Chuck may have thought this was funny. But he was also smart enough to know better than to openly laugh at her. "You guys were pounding down the shots pretty heavily," he said. "I'm surprised that you would allow Carina to talk you into it. Ellie, maybe, but not you."

Sarah was still a little green. So her smile wasn't her usual toothy grin. But it was definitely a smile. "I blame you for all of this," she said. Responding to his surprised look, she explained. "This never would have happened before I met you. When you're drunk, you're easily exploited. I've seen it happen to Carina a million times. The last thing that I ever wanted was to wake up naked next to some guy I didn't know. So I was always very careful about how much I allowed Carina to talk me into drinking. Then you came along with your whole 'Mr. Perfect' thing. Before I knew what was happening, you had tricked me into falling in love. My whole attitude had changed. You made me feel all loved and safe… part of a family…"

"And suddenly vulnerable to Carina's temptations," Chuck finished with a grin. "I can see that. I was insensitive. I'm very sorry. I feel like a jerk."

"It wasn't a very good thing to do to someone," Sarah teased. "So I guess you're officially in the dog house. This is a very bad day for you. Normally, you could easily get out of the dog house by simply performing that one very specific sex act you've proven to be so good at. And I know that I said anytime, anywhere. But I'm afraid that I'm currently not feeling in much of a sexy mood. It looks like you're stuck in the dog house until tonight after our mission."

"Okay," Chuck said. "I guess I deserve that. If sex acts are out, is there anything else I can do to keep the damage to a minimum? Would a back rub help?"

He wasn't fooling anybody. Sarah was still a little green. Chuck wasn't trying to get out of the doghouse they were teasing about. He knew that she wouldn't ask, but a back rub was exactly what she needed to put this hangover behind her. It would quickly relax her and hopefully allow her to fall back to sleep… something she desperately needed. And he also knew there was no way she was ever going to turn that down anyway.

Maybe it wasn't quite up to taking a bullet meant for her, but it was still incredibly sweet. It was today's reminder of what she already knew. She had hit the love lottery. It was even more amazing, since she hadn't even bought a ticket. Love was the last thing she had been looking for. But it was undeniable. Her amazing guy was pampering her. Even better, this was only the first week. She still had a lifetime of being pampered to look forward to. Sarah had really never been pampered before in her life. Oh, she had been wined and dined plenty of times by guys hoping it would lead to bed. But pampered? Her dad taught her to look out for herself. Bryce? Please. Chuck was in a different league. It felt… amazing. She already owed him far more that she could ever repay. And the very best part… he wasn't even keeping score.

If she tried to tell him any of that right now in her current condition, she would just turn into a blubbering mess. Maybe later tonight, some serious explaining could begin… Sarah style. She just rolled over onto her stomach to give him easy access.

"It sure wouldn't hurt."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah looped her arm through Chuck's as they walked down the street.

"I'm stunned that you have never been on a drug lord eye candy mission before," Chuck said. "You're perfect. Not only don't you have any personal modesty whatsoever… but you're also really cute when you're mostly naked."

Sarah didn't answer. She just kept walking.

"So," Chuck said with a growing grin. "This is an interesting situation we find ourselves in, isn't it? It's a spy situation where I actually have more experience than you do."

Chuck waited for a reaction. When he was sure he wasn't going to get one, he continued. "Carina's briefing was very specific," he teased. "On this type of assignment we're not a couple. As it turns out, I now own you. I bought you with endless lines of cocaine. So no matter what I do, your job is to flash that sexy smile that I like so much and make me look good. I'm expected to flaunt my possession. Making a big show of feeling you up in front of my peers is mandatory. It's also expected that I offer your services to one or more of my new friends. Carina wasn't really specific about the details of the service I am to offer, but I assume it's sexual in nature. That only seems fair, since they don't have long to live. They might as well die with a satisfied smile after receiving such an intimate service from the most beautiful woman in the world."

Chuck reached over and slid his hand into Sarah's open shirt. "I'm starting to like this assignment," he teased. "By the way. You're supposed to call me Daddy. Not to be critical, but I think that you've got some work to do on the sexy smile."

Sarah stopped walking. "I understand the assignment," she replied… maybe not in anger, but definitely with an edge. "Carina didn't invent the concept of eye candy. It was covered multiple times at the Academy. Chuck, how many times do we need to have this discussion? This is serious business. With Carina the other night, you had surprise. This time they're waiting for us. We are in danger, especially Carina. People are going to die tonight. Lose concentration, for even an instant, and it might be someone you love."

Chuck was taken aback by her tone. He withdrew his hand from inside her shirt. "Fine," he said. "I was teasing."

"I know you were," Sarah continued. "But that makes it even worse. Look. Chuck, I know that right now I sound harsh. You're not going to get an apology for that. Over the years I've developed a very keen set of spy instincts. They've kept me alive. I trust them. And right now they are ringing off the hook. You simply have to respect that. This isn't the time for any teasing."

"So no more foolishness until this assignment is over."

x-x-x-x-x

As usual, it was Carina and Ellie that led the celebration. Today had been another massive victory. The Fulcrum people were concentrating on capturing Carina. So she was easily used as a decoy. Once they had a glimpse of her, Chuck and Sarah, well mostly Chuck, had an easy time. Ted Roark's miscalculation cost him another humiliating defeat, thirty dead agents… and thirty million dollars.

Sarah quickly discovered something about herself. She didn't think much about being mostly naked around men. It usually didn't even occur to her. In fact, when she did think about it, it was usually because she was pissed for some reason and enjoying teasing some jerk and leaving him to burn. Maybe it wasn't something to be very proud of, but most times they had it coming. Then again, Agent Walker was well known to be fairly easy to piss off. The thing is, what she was currently wearing was so close to being naked that it didn't really matter. What she suddenly discovered was that her casual attitude about nudity didn't extend to her new father-in-law. In fact, she surprised herself by quickly turning red as she realized what he was seeing. She almost turned as red as Steven did… but not quite. So she made a beeline for the bedroom to change.

When Sarah came out, she immediately looked around. "Where's Chuck?" she asked innocently.

That got Carina and Ellie, who had spent an inordinate amount of time the past few days whispering conspiratorially into each other's ear, giggling. "I told you," Carina smirked. "When it comes to relationships, your poor brother is on his own. The girl doesn't have a fucking clue."

Naturally, Sarah didn't have much tolerance for anybody openly laughing at her, but especially Carina. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked hotly, as she squared off against Carina in preparation for battle.

Carina knew that if they fought, she would eventually lose. It had only happened a few million times. But she had lived her life not backing down… from anyone. She saw no reason to start now. So she assumed her own defensive posture. "I'd explain it to you," she taunted. "But having no fucking clue, you wouldn't understand anyway."

Fortunately, Ellie stepped in before any punches were thrown. "Ladies, relax," she said firmly to both of them. Then she turned to her new sister-in-law. "Sweetie," she said with a smile. "You really didn't notice that Chuck was pouting? He didn't like you yelling at him."

Sarah was stunned. "I didn't yell at him," she protested weakly. "I just told him to take the mission seriously."

That caused Casey to chime in. "You really don't know a thing about men, do you?" he teased. "They've all the same to you. Let them have a nice look down your shirt and they'll fall all over themselves doing anything you want. Well, husbands are different. And while we're having this discussion, what do you think is the key to our success on a mission? When you mess with the head of our secret weapon, you don't think that's a bad thing?"

"Where is he?" Sarah asked sadly.

Ellie sensed that Sarah was feeling piled upon. So she put her arm around her. "Sweetie," she said soothingly. "You have to understand Chuck. He can't separate his partner on a mission from his wife. He interprets you being harsh during the mission with you being mad at him on a personal level. So yeah, you hurt his feelings a little. You have some work to do to fix it. But don't make too big of a deal out of this. It happens. It's just part of being in a relationship. He's in the basement."

"Go talk to him."

x-x-x-x-x

Carina followed Steven into Chuck's office, closing the door behind her before he was even aware she was there. "Okay," she said. "I'm very sober. I'm unencumbered with anything foreign that could possibly lead to this decision. You are not taking advantage of me in the least. You're unencumbered with any reason to feel guilt. What's it going to be?"

Steven looked at Carina's smile lighting up the room. It was hard to watch her smile like that and not join her. "So what do you have in mind?" he asked. "A quickie on Chuck's computer chair?"

That got Carina laughing. "If you want," she answered cheekily. "Trust me. You won't be the first man to get lucky on that chair. I've heard the story of Sarah breaking out her lap dancing skills to impress her new husband. Not to brag. But I'll bet that I can give a better lap dance than Blondie… much more experienced."

Steven joined her laughing. "Now that I believe," he said.

Carina put her hand on Steven's arm. "I can come to your place where we'll have more privacy," she suggested. "I actually have to swing by and meet my Hungarian Attaché mark for an hour or so. I need to keep up appearances. But after that, I'll meet you at your place. We'll have a good time. I'll spend the night."

"Umm," Steven said cautiously. "Your mark… are you going to…"

That got Carina laughing again. "Steven," she interrupted. "I would never offer you sloppy seconds. I walked in here kinda hoping that you'd make me offer him sloppy seconds. That seems like some small measure of justice to me. I'll make up some excuse. Not even a horn dog like him can expect to get lucky every time. I would blow him off, nothing off color intended, and just go with you now. But I've been working on this case for a long time."

Steven nodded. "Okay," was his only reply.

"Look," Carina said. "I know that you're nervous about this. Please don't be. This isn't going to be weird. I promise. I'm actually excited. I know that I'm being pretty aggressive here. I think that's what you need to break the ice. So I'll get us started. But ask for what you want. Don't be afraid to take the lead. I'd like that."

"It doesn't have to be all sex, does it?" Steven asked. "I enjoy our conversations."

"I enjoy them too," Carina said. "Fair warning, my plan is to have you not having much breath left to talk for the first few hours."

Steven shared Carina's grin. "Fair enough," he said. "I can wait. Conversation is overrated anyway."

"I'll see you in an hour."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah could hear the crack of the balls hitting each other as she walked down the steps. She had studied him playing last night when he thought she was dancing. That wasn't unusual. She spent most of her time studying him. But normally, he played the game with precision. She loved the look in his eyes as her genius planned for his next shot. Tonight, he was just banging the balls angrily around the table. So she stood and watched him play for a long moment. She knew that he must have seen her standing there. But he refused to acknowledge her presence. It was disconcerting. It had been a while since she had seen him in this type of mood.

"Chuck," she finally said softly. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." When he didn't respond, her tone took on more of a pleading quality. "Come on, Chuck," she said. "I'm intense on missions. I always have been. I probably always will be. Today has been worse. I've had this sinking feeling in my gut all day that something bad is about to happen. It's stupid, I know. The mission was perfect. I don't know what it is. But I certainly didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I wasn't trying to lash out at you. You know that I would love to be your eye candy anytime you want."

When Chuck still didn't respond, Sarah plopped on the sofa. "You're really not going to help me out here?" she asked sadly. "You know that I can't stand it when you're upset with me. I just don't know what to do to fix it. Whatever that is, I want to do it."

"Here's a little tip," Chuck said, maybe not in anger but definitely with an edge. "You want help? When you're wrong, how about you look me in the eye and say 'Chuck, I was wrong. I'm sorry'?"

Sarah sat for a moment in thought. "Yeah," she said. "That probably would have worked. I know that seems obvious to you. And I know that you expect that it was obvious to me. You're right. It should have been obvious to me. But it wasn't. This is exactly what I keep trying to tell you. You're getting cheated."

Chuck just looked at her.

Sarah sat for a long moment, blinking away tears. "I'm not going to cry," she finally said. "That would be too easy. I'm not going to offer you wild sex. I'm just going to tell you that I'm very sorry and ask that you help me find a way to make it up to you."

Chuck finally actually looked at her and the devastated look on her face. "Don't make too much out of this," he said as he wrapped his arms around her. "Yes, I was pouting. I'm sorry. I was annoyed with you… for a few minutes. Yes, you were annoyed with me earlier… for a few minutes. In any marriage that's got to be okay from time to time, isn't it?"

Sarah snuggled gratefully. "Yes," she answered. "It's okay. But it's also always going to be a big deal to me. I hate it when you're unhappy with me."

"It's not any reason to cry," Chuck teased. "I think we should reconsider the not offering wild sex."

That got then both laughing… and this current 'tempest in a teapot' fight was officially over. "You do realize that you don't need me to offer you wild sex?" Sarah asked coyly. "Didn't you hear me say this to Bryce? Whatever you ask me for, you get with a smile. I've never meant anything in my life more than I meant that. It seems unfair to use that as an apology. I'd like it more than you would. It seems a little self-serving."

"I'd actually like it better if it was your idea."

x-x-x-x-x

Carina was grinning as she bounced down the hall. It had been quite the few days. Finding out that Sarah was alive had been a great moment. Not only that, she was now part of a family. Imagine that… Agent Miller part of a family. Chuck was almost like a brother. Ellie was rapidly becoming a best friend. Even Casey didn't seem quite so annoying.

Of course, it didn't hurt that her new family was bad ass. Carina, like most spies, loved to win. And they weren't only winning, they were kicking ass and taking names. Even better, she was a key part of those victories. In a few minutes, she would be on her way to share a bed with the great Orion. She would have to find a way to let him know how much she was looking forward to that. Things were lining up perfectly in her life.

But first she had to deal with this Hungarian Attaché moron. But even that didn't seem so bad. A few minutes of claiming an upset stomach, a promise to return tomorrow, and she'd be pulling his hand out of her shirt and be on her way.

Except that she didn't recognize the man who answered the door. But she did recognize that he was perhaps the ugliest man she had ever seen. "I'm sorry," she said. "I must have the wrong room."

The man grinned. "You have the right room," he growled.

Carina could only look on in horror at the two darts sticking out of her chest. She could barely make out what he was saying with her last bit of consciousness.

"My name is Yuri," he growled. "We're going to have a very good time."

"Well, maybe me more than you."

x-x-x-x-x


	17. Team B's Plan B

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: I've been telling you that this is going to get dark. The bad guys have to win sometimes or it's not much of a war. This chapter is going to be darker as the family fights for their survival._

 _There still will be multiple character deaths._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **Team B's Plan B**

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck and Sarah were snuggled on the basement couch for a few minutes, enjoying the official end of their first real fight as a married couple and some quiet, alone time. Finally, Sarah pulled away enough to be able to look into his eyes. "Okay," she said. "You finally have me down here alone. Carina, Dad, and Ellie are leaving. Casey would rather take a bullet than walk down those stairs under these circumstances. We haven't had sex in over a day. That alone is unacceptable. Isn't it time that we christened the pool table? Or maybe for you to get me to play 'strip pool'? To see if you could hustle me out of some or all of my clothes? I have to admit, that's a game I've never played before."

Sarah giggled at the surprise in his eyes. "You shouldn't tell Casey things like that if you don't want it to get back to me," she explained. "He's predictably going to go complaining in disgust to Carina. Naturally, Carina is going to make a beeline to me, using her new knowledge to take a shot at turning my face red. That's also very predictable. So what are the official rules of 'strip pool' anyway? I'll be completely honest. I've been invited to play 'strip' versions of popular games a time or two in the past while stalling for Bryce. Once someone loses and is naked, my assumption is that the winner gets a prize of some kind. I've ever gotten that far. What prize did you have in mind?"

Sarah sat and playfully watched the red travel up his neck and into his face. "You're so cute when you blush," she teased. "Care to tell me why you're blushing this time? It sounds like a fun game, one you're easily going to win."

Chuck just stared at her. Her eyes lighting up the room was a clear indication that she was enjoying his discomfort a bit too much. "You're really going to make me say this," he finally sighed. "Okay. Yes. You are the most beautiful woman in the world. I feel like a kid in a candy store. I like… Sarah, I've imagined you taking off your clothes for my amusement only about a million times in the past year. The game was just an excuse. I'm embarrassed. Does that make me a bad husband? Or even worse, a pervert?"

That quickly changed Sarah's mood. She didn't answer. She just placed her arm around his neck and pressed her lips to his. The mini make-out session lasted a long moment. "You're so cute," she said with a huge grin. "And I'm doing a horrible job."

Sarah's grin faded as she stopped his predictable protest with another short peck. "I am," she insisted. "Chuck, please listen to me. You shouldn't be embarrassed. You're certainly no pervert. And a bad husband? You're a perfect husband. I'm your wife. You don't need an excuse. All you have to do is let me know. And the simple truth is, you shouldn't have to ask. With us fighting the war ever since we got married, we haven't had a lot of time for me to break out the sexy lingerie and put on a show. But that's no excuse. I should have made time. I've let you down. If I was doing the things I had always planned for us, you'd be getting what you want without having to ask."

Sarah took a moment to gather her composure. "I told you that you were getting everything I had to give," she continued. "And here I am taking you for granted after just a week. When I used to lie in bed at night, daydreaming about us, I thought that I would have to be the aggressive one in the bedroom. And trust me. I was very prepared to do that. When you started taking the lead, well that was a wonderful surprise for me. So I sat back and enjoyed it. I guess that I just got too used to it. That's unfair. You deserve to be seduced just as much as I do."

Sarah fought back the cryptic laugh. "I don't have much experience with husbands," she said. "And since I think you're perfect, who cares if the game is made up? All I do know is that it's incredibly hot. For the record, didn't you hear me tell Bryce? Chuck, I don't think you understand exactly what I'm trying to tell you here. You don't need any excuse, or to invent any game. I'm not saying that I'm reluctantly willing to make a sacrifice and put on a sexy show for you. I'm saying that would be something I would look forward too. I would enjoy it more than you would. That would incredibly hot for me. And since it hopefully would lead to some very hot sex, I'd be more than happy to put on whatever show you would enjoy, pretty much whenever you want. But if we are going to play an honestly competitive strip game, that's a little different. How about one where I have a legitimate chance?"

"What?" she asked in response to his surprised look. "You don't think that I've imagined you performing sexy tasks for my amusement a few times over the past year? Maybe not a million… but at least a few hundred thousand. I'm very competitive. I think I deserve a chance at the winner's prize. I think that we both already know what I'm going to pick for my prize. How about next time we play 'strip darts'? No fair using the Intersect."

Chuck just grinned at her. "Like I would have a chance at 'strip darts'," he laughed. "I've seen you throw a knife, remember? But I'm a sport. I'll play next time. I have an idea. Until we can think of an honest game, pick a number between one and five. I'll tell you if you're right. You'll win twenty percent of the time. Loser forfeits one article of clothing."

That got them both laughing. "Deal," Sarah said with a knowing smirk as she got up and stood before him. "I can't wait to see what the winner's prize for this game is." She was already unbuttoning her blouse. "Let's see. A number between one and five?"

"My first guess is seven."

x-x-x-x-x

Carina had barely regained a thread of consciousness, yet she instinctively knew that she was in serious trouble. All she could feel was cold. When she was finally able to pry her eyes open, she quickly discovered that her instincts were correct. She was hanging by her arms with her bare feet barely touching the floor. Not only was the room freezing, all she was wearing were the, basically invisible, panties she had picked out specifically for Steven later tonight.

The art of interrogation wasn't her specialty. Sarah was the expert. But she had been around long enough to recognize most of the instruments that were sitting on the table next to her. Sarah had many of the same ones. But Sarah tried to follow the rules. She used most of those horrible looking instruments only for their intimidation value. And Carina had to admit… they were pretty damned intimidating.

Unfortunately, whoever had captured her probably wouldn't be encumbered by silly things like interrogation rules. Even worse, she didn't even know who had her and what they wanted. Her being advertised as the fake Intersect by Orion was probably the obvious reason she was here. But, like any in her profession, she had accumulated her fair share of enemies. If this was just one of the many drug cartel members she had put behind bars looking for revenge… well, then this was probably the end for her. They would just take pleasure in torturing her to death. Her only job would be to die with as much dignity as she could.

But if they were using her to try and get to Orion, that was a totally different situation. Besides whatever evolving personal thing they had going, she had a duty to protect him. And that meant holding out for as long as possible. Given enough time, they could break anybody. Everyone knew that. But Sarah had taught her one very important fact. They could make you talk. But they couldn't make you tell them the truth. Carina wasn't afraid to die. You didn't become a CIA agent if you were. But there was one thing that she was very afraid of, betraying her new family. It made whatever she was going to endure today pale in comparison. She vowed to herself that wouldn't happen.

Yuri walked into the room and looked closely at his prisoner. A normal person might have felt some guilt at enjoying his work so much. Not Yuri. Guilt really wasn't high on his list of emotions. And this one was extra special. She was very pretty. Maybe even more so since redheads had always been a thing for him. Not only that, she had a fire in her eyes. It would be a shame to mess up that pretty face… at least so early in the process, so that ruled out knocking out any teeth. And he really couldn't damage her too badly anyway… not yet. She had to be alert enough to be able to answer Beckman's questions. That ruled out breaking any major bones. His job was to deliver enough pain to scare her so that she would talk… but not so much pain that she would lose consciousness. Agents didn't scare easily… so this was going to be a delicate process.

Maybe the high powered taser would be a good place to start. It hurt like hell. Predictably people would quickly try to negotiate to avoid the next charge. But, except for the small burn mark, it really didn't cause any permanent damage. There was even a better psychological advantage. It made them lose control of their own body. Agents always hated to lose control. Besides, he loved to watch them twitch when the current was running. And this particular victim had some interesting places to twitch. That might be a little fun.

Then, after a few hours, maybe it would be time to deploy the bullwhip he loved to use with the pretty ones. The sight of them dancing on their toes trying to ride out the fire on their backs was always fun. That might be enough to get her begging. It wasn't his strength, but Yuri could be patient… a little anyway. After Beckman was done with her questions, this redhead would be all his. Any reason to be patient would be gone… and the serious fun would begin.

Carina knew better than to show any fear… that would simply make things worse. But she was very afraid. Anybody would be in this situation. "Hi, Yuri," she said with as much of a sexy smile as she could muster. "So you're into bondage? It's not my first choice. Maybe you could untie me and I'll show you what my first choice is."

Yuri grinned. The pretty ones almost always tried to use sex to get their way out of this situation. That was most definitely on the agenda for later, when she was broken and he had her all to himself. But first, he had to show this bitch who was in charge. He took his fist and buried it into her gut.

Agents were trained to take a punch. But Yuri was a huge man. His punch was very powerful. Carina couldn't help the grunt that made it plain that she felt that. It had her gasping for air. "Fuck," she was finally able to gasp in faux admiration. "Nice punch. What are we going to do next?"

Yuri grinned at the false bravado. This one had much more spunk than usual. That would make breaking her all that much more fun. He picked up the taser from the table.

Carina knew full well what was coming. All she could do was watch him press the device flat on her stomach, and keep the panic at bay. But she knew that no one, including her, would be able to hold out for long against being constantly tasered. "Come on, Yuri," she pleaded. "Can we talk about it first? Do we really have to do this?"

"I'm afraid so," Yuri said as he pulled the trigger. He stood and watched her body involuntarily dance as the current flowed through her. It was something that never got old. "This is just the beginning."

"We're going to have a long day."

x-x-x-x-x

"How do I keep losing?"

Sarah had to fight to keep the grin from her face as she visibly pouted, while handing Chuck her latest lost article of clothing… this time her bra. She shyly covered her chest with her arm as she willed the blush up her neck. The ability to blush on demand was a mandatory skill for any agent. The ditzy, confused blonde persona was her favorite agent tactic when distracting men was the goal. It was an easy role to play… and the men were always eager to believe it. Besides, when it became time to fight, it made landing her left foot all that much easier. They never expected it. Sarah loved the surprised look on their face when the ditzy blonde they were trying to exploit turned into badass Agent Walker before their eyes. Based purely upon the tent that was so conspicuously forming in Chuck's pants, he was buying it.

Or maybe not. Chuck took the offered bra with a sigh. "You don't have to do this," he said. "Sarah, you don't have to play the dumb blonde. You're the smartest, strongest person I know. You're anything but a dumb blonde. I've seen this act with marks. I'm your husband. You don't have to demean yourself for me. I'm feeling kinda guilty."

Sarah broke character for a moment. "Let me ask you a serious question," she said. "I want an honest answer. Are you enjoying this?" She really didn't give him a chance to respond. "The question was actually rhetorical. I can see that you're enjoying it. Okay, so this is a performance. So what? You're not a mark. You have every right to get this performance from me. Besides, I'm not demeaning myself. I'm having fun. I don't have to worry about you exploiting me like a mark would. I love playing this role with you, especially thinking about where it hopefully is going to lead. I want you to take full advantage. Why would you possibly feel guilty about that?"

"I don't know," Chuck sighed. "I just want you to know that I love you… for you. Don't get me wrong. You are, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman in the world. The sex has been fantastic. But it's way more than that. I'm so grateful to have you in my life. You're my best friend. I love everything we do together, not just sex. When I get all excited watching you play a sexy role… I feel like just one of the billions of men who would do anything to get you in bed… to treat you as an object. You deserve so much better… especially from me."

Sarah had to pause for a moment to blink some tears away. How could someone possibly be this perfect? Finally she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and held on for dear life for a long, long time. "Do you really think that I don't know how you feel about me?" she finally asked softly into his ear. "You keep telling me with your amazing words. I wish that I had those kinds of words to tell you how I feel about you. Chuck, you're such a good husband. You're perfect. But can we please put away the nicest man in the world for a minute?"

Chuck really couldn't speak. She was emotional. Her arms were wrapped so tightly around his neck that he really couldn't breathe all that well. Under other circumstances, it would have been painful. Now, it just felt… wonderful. So he just nodded his head the best he could.

Sarah relaxed her death grip a little. "Maybe we should put this on the table," she continued. "It's hard for me to think of you being attracted to me as a bad thing. I'm just as physically attracted to you. Why should we fret about that? We're married. You're that one man in the billions that doesn't have to try to get me in bed… or even on the pool table for that matter. If we spend most of our days over the coming years naked and making love, I'm more than fine with that. And even before we were married, whether you realized it or not, you turned down multiple opportunities for that conquest… to get me in bed… all because you wanted more."

Chuck made a mental note. This wasn't the time for this conversation. And it was moot anyway. But he was clearly missing something. Someday Sarah was going to have to fill him in on the opportunities to get her in bed that he had passed up. That would be interesting.

"You've never, not once, ever treated me like an object," Sarah sighed. "Trust me. I know what that looks like. The suggestion of you doing it is silly. You've been respectful of me… almost to a fault. So now I'm putting my foot down. I want you to listen to me very carefully. You're going to get all of that stupid guilt out of your head. You're going to allow your loving wife the privilege of showing you the things you can say with words that she can't. You're going to gracefully accept the present that she is trying to give you, the one she will enjoy more than you will. You're going to take full advantage of the opportunity that ditzy Jenny here has presented you to rid yourself of that uncomfortable tent in your pants, and you're going to keep giving her tasks until that tent goes away and doesn't come back. I really don't want to hear another word of protest."

Chuck knew her well enough to know that, despite the grin, when she used that tone, she wasn't really kidding. There was only one thing to say. "Yes, Ma'am."

Sarah finally broke the embrace and resumed pretending to cover her chest, best she could, with her arm. She put the shy pout back on her face. "How can the number never be seven?" she asked. "It doesn't seem possible. So I'll give it one last try." When Chuck shook his head, Sarah… or more accurately, Jenny… used her free hand to slide down her panties, hand them to him, and shyly pretend to cover her… um… self. "I guess you won fair and square," she pouted. "So, what is this prize that you've won?"

Chuck just had to laugh. _Sarah was playing the dumb blonde?_ She had just rather brilliantly trapped him. They hadn't talked about the specifics of any prize beforehand. That was obviously by design. She had just given him permission to make the prize any fantasy he could think of. She had just, rather pointedly, preempted any possible guilt. He might as well accept this and make the most of it. If he didn't come up with some wild tasks for 'Ditzy Jenny' on and around the pool table here tonight, there was going to be hell to pay. Suddenly ideas for 'prizes' started popping into his head, each more lurid than the previous one.

Unfortunately, he never got to choose one. Casey was making as much noise as possible coming down the steps. "You might want to get dressed," he called.

"We have a situation."

x-x-x-x-x

By the time Sarah was dressed and back upstairs, Steven and Ellie were already back. Sarah had never seen the look of pure hatred that was currently on her father-in-law's face.

"Who has her?" Ellie asked, trying hard to stay composed.

"Beckman," Steven growled. "She put up a post where she knew that I'd see it, offering to trade Carina for me. It was a taunt."

"Don't even think about it," Casey said. "All that would do is put you at her mercy. It wouldn't help Carina. She's going to kill her one way or the other anyway."

"I think we have to risk it," Steven protested. "We have to save her."

Sarah stood up and put her face directly into his. "No way," she said. "That would just make things worse. Look, we all love her. But Carina knew the dangers. She's a lot tougher than you think. Besides, Casey's right. It wouldn't work anyway. We'll rescue her. But we have to be smart about it. How do we get to Beckman?"

"Beckman's easy," Steven said. "The problem is that we need Beckman to order the airstrike we have planned. Dealing with her first would be fatal. It would mean Roark wins. Once he's free from the CIA war and can direct his full attention to us, we're in trouble."

"Maybe Mom could help with Roark," Chuck suggested. "Volkoff has resources. I'll go talk to her."

That got Sarah's full attention. "No way," she snapped. "Not you. She's in Russia. Having the Intersect go to his turf would be reckless. Maybe Ellie and I can…"

"Volkoff is off the table," Steven interrupted. "Mary is compromised. There is no telling what she might do. And even if she wasn't compromised, there is no way she could talk him into helping us. He doesn't have those types of resources anyway. Fulcrum is much more powerful than Alexei. If Volkoff could defeat Roark, he'd have done it twenty years ago."

"Are we in danger?" Casey asked. "Carina knows where this house is."

"We're always going to be in danger," Ellie sighed. "It's our new life."

Sarah grabbed her sister's arm. "That's why we have to win," she said firmly. There was little doubt that she was seething. "We're only in danger as long as our enemies are still breathing. Now that they've fucking forced our hand, that's not going to be long. I don't think we have to worry too much in the short term. Beckman doesn't know we're alive. She would have no reason to ask Carina about us. So Carina wouldn't have any reason to give us up."

Steven looked around the room cautiously. "I do have an alternate plan for dealing with Fulcrum," he said. "Sarah, you're not going to like it. Chuck is the key to it working. And you're not going to be able to be with him, not at first anyway. We'll need you to help rescue Carina. So I get that you're not excited. But will you, at least, honestly listen before you say no? It's our best chance to get Carina back before she is seriously damaged."

Sarah looked around the room. "I'll listen," she said. "You've earned that much trust from me. You're right. I'm not excited."

In spite of the incredibly tense situation, Steven and Sarah shared a tense smile. "That's all I ask," he said.

"This is my plan B."

x-x-x-x-x


	18. Team B Divided

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: I've been telling you that this is going to get dark. The bad guys have to win sometimes or it's not much of a war. This chapter is going to be darker as the family fights for their survival._

 _There still will be multiple character deaths._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **Team B Divided**

x-x-x-x-x

Ted Roark could only stare at the monitor in disbelief. "You want to form an alliance?" he asked. "Why now?"

Steven didn't answer for a long time. "Things have changed for me," he finally said. "Look, Ted. You still have ambitions. You want to conquer the world. I don't. I just want to settle down with my research and spoil my grandkids. I'll leave the world domination to you. But we both know that what I can bring to the table can make that happen for you."

That certainly had Roark's attention. Steven was basically right. With Steven's technology… and the freedom and support to openly develop more, Fulcrum would instantly become a world power, ready to finally implement the plan he had been refining for the past twenty years of controlling all of the strategic world governments. He had spent all of that time trying to capture Steven for that very reason… and all he had for his years of effort was a ton of frustration, millions of dollars wasted, and scores of dead agents to bury. "Okay, Steven," he said. "I'm listening. What do you want?"

"I want a guarantee that my family and I are safe," Steven started explaining. "I don't want any part of Fulcrum. I think that running drugs is distasteful and beneath you. But I'm going to pretend that it doesn't exist. You go ahead and rule the world. I don't care about that. I get that my inventions will help you in your, not so noble, quest. But I never want to hear the details. There was a time when your word would have been enough for me to trust you. Maybe someday that will be true again. But for now, I'm going to need something a little more tangible as guarantee. I want fifty percent of your preferred stock in Roark Industries transferred to a foundation I've set up."

The wheels in Roark's head were spinning. He had taken the company public many years ago. Most of what the public held was common stock. What Steven was asking for was the preferred stock, the stock that voted for the board of directors and basically controlled the company. "That's worth a hundred billion dollars," he said. "Your price is too high."

"Let's face some facts, Ted," Steven continued. "Most of the value of Roark Industries came from my inventions in the first place. When we were in college, we agreed that we would split everything fifty-fifty. I'm not asking for anything that I'm not already entitled to. So there is a principle involved for me. Consider it a deal breaker. Even you would have to admit that the company has been stagnant for the past decade. I can change that. I have some things ready to prototype that would almost instantly more than double the company's value. So this will actually make you money. And you get the thing that your money will never be able to buy… Intersect 2.0."

Ted thought about it for a long time. It was impossible to argue any of Steven's points. Even forgetting about his political ambitions, this was a good business deal. The company had been resting on its laurels for the past decade. He had spent too much time on Fulcrum and allowed it to drift into mediocrity. It had lost its standing as the world's technology lighthouse. He had no question that Steven had magic inventions that could, almost immediately, put RI back on top of the tech world. Maybe he would only control half of the company, but that half would be worth many multiples of what it had before. But the real prize was Intersect 2.0. "How do I know that you can deliver?" he asked. "You say you don't trust me. Well, no offense old friend, the feeling is quite mutual."

In spite of the incredibly tense negotiation, that got both men smiling. "None taken," Steven replied. "I'll give you a demonstration of what I can deliver. I'll send a man with a set of glasses loaded with Intersect 2.0. It will be protected with a twenty byte encryption code that only I will know. He'll be wearing a wire that I will be monitoring at all times. Once I'm convinced that we have a deal, he'll upload it, and show you 2.0's power."

Roark grinned. "Steven, tell me the truth," he said. "After all of these years, why this sudden change of heart? Is this about Mary?"

Steven's head shot up at his suggestion. "You leave Volkoff to me," he growled. "I'll leave the rest of the world to you. When the stock transaction is complete, I'll send you another encrypted file that you can deploy over the Internet to your various agents."

Ted thought about it for a long moment. He believed that Steven's offer was genuine. Mary had always been his weakness, even in college. He obviously wanted money to get her back from Alexei. _Good luck with that. Roark had learned the hard way that sometimes it takes more than money. But that was his problem._ "Your new Intersect stays with me until you've fully delivered," he finished.

"Agreed," Steven said. "I know that I don't have to tell you this, but the glasses are protected. They self-destruct after the first download. Any attempt to reverse engineer them would be foolish. Once everything is in place, we can talk about the details of the research facilities I'll need. Ted, despite our history, I'm making this offer in good faith. It'll be nice to stop fighting. Our partnership can benefit us both. Any attempt to fuck with me here and I'm going straight to the CIA. You'll have thousands of CIA Intersects to face. That would quickly end Fulcrum."

"Understood," Roark responded. "We have a deal. We'll talk when your man shows up."

As soon as the screen went dark, Steven turned to Chuck. "It looks like you're up," he said. "You're going to be on your own. I think he bought it. But there's no telling what Roark might try. You might have to fight your way out. We'll get the team in position to back you up as soon as we can."

Chuck looked at his dad. Frankly, not all of the past twenty years of growing up as a de facto orphan had been forgiven yet. But he was coming to understand him a lot better. He was dying to ask what the real story was with Mom. With everything he had learned over the last few weeks, that question was always in the back of his mind. But what he might hear would probably be creepy. So he settled for some teasing. "What's the deal with you and Carina?" he teased.

Chuck knew by the speed with which Steven's face had turned red that he had struck a nerve. "If you figure it out, you can tell me," Steven sighed. "I hope that we see her again."

Chuck had really never seen his dad look so vulnerable. "Don't worry," he comforted. "Sarah is all over this. She's amazing. I don't think you realize how badass she is. I wish I was there to see it. I almost feel sorry for them."

"You'll have the advantage," Steven said, in a clear attempt to change the subject. "But be very careful. She is amazing. You're very lucky."

"But I sure don't want to have to face badass Sarah if you come back with a scratch or something."

x-x-x-x-x

Diane Beckman was a proud individual. Even having such a high level position, she bristled at any suggestion that she ever needed anybody's help. She bought her own groceries, drove her own car, and cooked her own meals.

The one exception that she allowed was the limo that was standing by 24 x 7 for official business. She thought it was mostly a stupid waste of taxpayer money. She was almost always at her office in the Pentagon. But she had found that it was more of a hassle to fight about it, than to simply give in. The Secret Service had very strict rules for any vehicles allowed inside the White House gates. If it wasn't constantly under the direct control of one of their teams of agents it had to undergo a thorough inspection. And she was summoned to the Situation Room on a regular basis. So Beckman reluctantly gave in and rode to work in the mornings, and back home in the evenings, ferried by rotating two person teams of Secret Service agents in dark blue suits. They were always respectful. Even better, General Beckman's reputation had preceded her and they kept to themselves, hidden by the tinted windows and privacy panel. The last thing that she needed was some underling trying to make small talk.

And even Diane had to admit… it was much easier to sit in the comfort of the limo, make a few phone calls, unwind from the tension of the day with a glass of wine, perhaps review some late breaking intelligence reports, and allow the professional driver the frustrating chore of navigating the ridiculous inside the beltway traffic.

Today had been more stressful than usual. But it wasn't a day to unwind with a glass of wine. She had to meet with Yuri again tonight. That wasn't the half of it. She actually had to get into his car and go with him. It was ultimately a good thing. He reported that Agent Miller was ready to answer her questions. There was no doubting Yuri's ability to deliver pain. After only one day, Orion was within her grasp. It was time to snap the trap shut. But it was also something she dreaded. Being alone with Yuri was something she tried hard to avoid at all costs. She was afraid of him… and he knew it. The sadistic bastard always took great pleasure in finding ways to intimidate her. Most times, that just involved standing uncomfortably close. Even that was creepy beyond belief. So she was on the second strong pull from the bottle of vodka that she kept stashed in the limo when she realized that while they were stopped at a red light, one of the agents got out of the car, and joined her in the back. At first, Beckman wasn't sure that she wasn't seeing things. This couldn't be. "Agent Walker," she gasped. "You're dead."

Sarah didn't smile, far from it. In fact, her blue eyes looked like laser beams boring holes through Beckman's head. "That's what everyone keeps saying," she growled. "In an hour, you're going to wish that it was true."

Beckman looked around. For the first time she realized that they were no longer in town. As this realization was hitting her, the partition was rolled down and she received her second surprise within the last minute when she saw John Casey in the driver's seat. "Major Casey," she barked. "Turn this car around this instant and take me back to the Pentagon. That is a direct order."

Casey actually smiled. It just didn't contain any humor. "Fuck you," he replied… drawing out the words to about twenty syllables. "For one thing, Major Casey is dead. You, yourself issued his termination order. For another, you've forfeited any right to issue any valid order to anybody wearing a uniform. If you were going to live much longer, I'd place you under arrest for treason."

"So," Sarah said, drawing Beckman's attention back to her. "It seems as if you have a choice to make. Are you going to make this easy? Or are you going to make this hard? Where is she?"

Beckman knew who 'she' probably was. Who else could it be? But a little deniability probably wouldn't hurt. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

"That's what I thought," Sarah said. She would have loved for Beckman to experience her favorite weapon… her left foot. She just didn't have room sitting in the limo to throw a kick. But against this tiny woman, her right cross was more than enough to send the General flying across the car and ending up unceremoniously in an unconscious heap. She caught Casey's eyes in the rear view mirror. This time she was able to flash a small smile.

"I've been wanting to do that all day."

x-x-x-x-x

When General Beckman opened her eyes, she found herself strapped to a large wooden chair. Her legs were secured to the legs of the chair. Her forearms were secured to the arms of the chair with her hands lying flat. Sarah was standing in front of her in a black mission outfit. "Agent Walker!" she shouted. "I demand that you release me this instant. That is an order."

Sarah smiled and showed her the handful of stars she had just removed from Beckman's lapel. "You don't deserve to wear these," she growled as she unceremoniously tossed them in the wastebasket. "Actually, you don't even deserve to wear that uniform. But frankly, nobody here wants to see that. So I'm going to ask you nicely, once, before this gets very serious. Where is she?"

Beckman looked around the room. Sarah's table had many of the same instruments as Yuri's. "You're bluffing," she said. "We both know that using any of those things is a direct violation of U.S. law."

Sarah didn't answer. She just took the hammer she was holding and slammed it down on Beckman's hand. It landed directly on the second knuckle of her index finger. It really didn't make much sound. But one look and it was obvious that the finger was smashed beyond repair. A small trickle of blood started to drip from the arm of the chair.

Sarah waited until she felt that Beckman had recovered enough and could hear her. "It's true what they say," she said. "You are as stupid as you look. You would dare talk to me about the rule of law? Let me explain this to you in small words. Agent Walker is dead. She has absolutely nothing to lose. Thanks largely to you, she is also one of the leading experts in the world at delivering pain. We both know that she can get you to talk. And since you're forcing her to be away from her, also dead, newlywed husband… well, you're not her favorite person. So here is the dead Agent Walker's deal for you. She's' going to offer it only once. Tell her what she wants to know and we'll make this easy. Her doctor friend here will give you something for the pain while we verify what you've told us. My hope is that you hold out for a while. Frankly, I'm looking forward to practicing some of the things I know that I hardly ever get to use... them being a violation of U.S. law."

"Now where is she?"

x-x-x-x-x

Yuri was surprised… but very pleasantly so. He had expected to be spending some serious time with the crusty general. She was fun to intimidate. The blonde that was standing before him in this dark parking lot was much more pleasant to look at… by an indescribable margin. She might represent a different kind of fun. "Who are you?" he asked.

Sarah took a long look at the huge hulk standing before her. He was quite possibly the ugliest man she had ever seen. She flashed her CIA ID at him. "Agent Walker," she said. "I'm General Beckman's interrogation expert." It was a calculated gamble that this Neanderthal wasn't connected enough with the CIA to know anything about Agent Walker… and her recent death. "I'm in a hurry. Take me to the prisoner and I can get this over with and be out of your hair." _Well, if you had any hair anyway._

"I'll have to search you for weapons."

This was a pretty predictable excuse to get his hand inside of her bra. It never took long for any of these creeps to think of it. She and Casey had debated a while on what she should wear. A mission outfit might make her seem more professional and serious. It would be more appropriate for an interrogation. It would also make it harder for him to grope her. But Yuri had already done all the torture, dirty work. It also might encourage him to insist that she take it off to be thoroughly searched. So Sarah finally decided to wear her standard white blouse, dark blue skirt, and get the groping over with. She didn't argue. She just assumed the standard 'frisk' position with her hands high on the wall and her legs spread, knowing what was coming.

One thing was certain. If Sarah was trying to hide something, inside her bra wasn't the place. He spent a full three minutes in there looking for Stinger missiles. It was one more thing that she would have to explain to Chuck. What husband should have to tolerate three different men coping a feel… in the first week? This had already happened to her more in the few days since she had gotten married to Chuck than in the entire previous year working with him. It would almost be funny if it wasn't so aggravating. Of course, spending so much time amusing himself in her bra meant that Yuri didn't have time to find the wire that was taped to her foot… or even the holster of knives strapped around her thigh.

As soon as Yuri was done 'searching' her, he grinned. "Let's go," he said. Suddenly a knife was sticking in the wall right next to his head. It had the ring of his earring pinned to the wall.

"A word of warning," Sarah growled as she stepped up and pulled the knife free. "This is already pretty well known in agent circles. You can ask around. I don't like for my chest to be touched without permission. I'll let you know when it is okay to touch me there."

"Don't hold your breath."

x-x-x-x-x

A one hundred billion dollar stock transaction took some time to get organized. There were tons of tax considerations. The SEC had to be notified. So even with Roark's massive team of lawyers and accountants, it was going to take a couple of days. There was some discussion within the Fulcrum inner circle about trying to trick Steven. But ultimately, Roark vetoed that idea. He was a pragmatist. It had taken twenty years to get the great Orion to this position. A hundred billion was a small price to pay to rule the world… especially given that he would quickly make it back many times over with Steven's magic technology. Roark wasn't all that big of a tech geek. But even he was anxious to get a peek at whatever his old roommate was going to pull out of his magic bag.

So when Chuck was led into the room, Roark couldn't keep the smirk from his face. This geek is who Steven chose to be his next Intersect? One thing for sure, he wasn't an agent. "Do you know why you're here?" he asked.

Chuck simply nodded. "Yes, sir," he replied.

They didn't waste any time. Chuck put on the glasses, called Orion for the code, and was quickly uploaded.

"Time for a little test," Roark said. He pointed to an incredibly large man who had muscles growing on top of his muscles. "This is Igor. Fight him."

Chuck wasn't really acting. The guy was ginormous. "Fight him?" he asked incredulously. "He's… um… pretty big."

Roark grinned. "It's time to sink or swim," he said. "Either this works or Igor kills you. If I was you, I'd root for the former."

Naturally, when the fight started, it was a mismatch. Igor never came close to landing a blow. Chuck toyed with him for a while before ending his day with a series of spinning kicks to his knees and finally his jaw.

"I pulled back those kicks," Chuck said as soon as Igor was lying in an unconscious heap. "A couple of days in bed, a couple of weeks walking with a limp, and he should be fine."

Roark really didn't hear Chuck. He was far too excited. "This really works," he said. "Call your boss."

"Tell him that we have a deal.

x-x-x-x-x

All Sarah could see for a long moment was pure red. Carina was hanging limp by her arms, basically naked. There were red marks all over her body that were clearly the product of being tasered repeatedly. Even more obvious were the long welts on her back. She was moaning, "No more." Even if she was going to ask some questions, Sarah knew that Carina would need a shot of adrenaline just to be alert enough to be able to answer.

Sarah knew that the plan called for her to stall for a minute to allow the team who was tailing them to get in position. She was just too angry. Sarah was also very confident in her favorite weapon. So she threw her left foot with every bit of force that she could muster. It landed perfectly on the point of his jaw. There was nobody alive who could take that blow and stay conscious… except apparently this guy. Yuri was stunned for a second but he quickly shook it off and advanced.

Sarah tried to throw it again. But this time, Yuri was ready for her. He easily knocked her leg aside and pushed her violently into the wall. Sarah was dazed when her head hit the wall, but through the fog she instinctively knew that she was in trouble. She fought to remain conscious. But she was helpless to do anything about the punch that was headed, seemingly in slow motion, for her jaw. If she had been alone, she would soon wake up in the same shape as Carina… naked and hanging from the ceiling by her arms. Fortunately, she wasn't alone. The punch never landed because Casey had burst into the room and slammed his gun into the top of Yuri's head. Even that didn't stop Yuri. But it did slow him down enough to give Sarah time to recover her senses. So when Casey handed her the gun, several shots to the back of his head had his dead body collapsed on the floor. Sarah kept firing until the click told her that she had emptied the clip into what was left of Yuri's head.

Devon and Ellie had already cut Carina's binds, had gently lowered her to the floor, and were examining her.

"I can't feel my arms," Carina moaned weakly.

Ellie made eye contact with Sarah and shook her head in response to her unasked question. "It's too soon to tell," she said quietly. "She's alive but her vitals aren't all that good. She has been through a major trauma, definitely has some broken ribs. We won't know about internal injuries until we can get her someplace and examine her properly."

Devon was already injecting a hypo into Carina's arm. "This will help her rest," he said.

Sarah wiped the tears from her eyes as she looked at her best friend's broken body. There was still work to be done. Chuck was still in danger. It wasn't the time yet for any emotion. But at least Carina was now safe. So she nodded to Ellie.

"Let's get her home."

x-x-x-x-x


	19. Doctor's Orders

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _Warning: I've been telling you that this is going to get dark. The bad guys have to win sometimes or it's not much of a war. This chapter is going to be darker as the family fights for their survival._

 _There still will be multiple character deaths._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **Doctor's Orders**

x-x-x-x-x

When Carina was finally conscious enough to attempt to open her eyes, she was sure that she was dreaming… or dead. She felt odd. At some level she could still feel the burning in her chest, arms, and back. But it didn't seem to matter all that much. She was floating on a cloud. Maybe this was heaven.

With some effort, she finally managed to open her eyes fully and look around, discovering that it wasn't heaven. But it was almost as good. She was lying in bed. The crisp sheets felt so good. Even better, Steven was sitting next to her, gently holding her hand. "Hey," she croaked, quickly finding that her throat was so dry that she could barely get the word out.

Steven's smile lit up the room. "I was afraid that we weren't ever going to see you again," he said, holding the straw from a glass of ice water to her lips. "How are you feeling? Ellie said that you would be thirsty."

Carina's first task was to get some of the ice cold water on her parched throat. She paused for a moment to consider the question. There wasn't a simple answer. Now that she was fully awake, the pain from her back was noticeable again. It felt like it was on fire. Her entire body felt like she had been run over by a freight train. Then again, her new family had rescued her from a simply horrible fate. She'd have to hear the story soon. But however they had accomplished it, they must have put themselves in some measure of danger… and Orion must have pulled some serious magic out of his hat. That was… wow. It trumped any physical pain. But it wasn't the time to get all emotional. So she called on her training. "Fine," was all she said.

Steven laughed at her bravado. "That's good," he teased. "Because I'm ready for that wild, monkey sex you're always promising. What are you wearing under that sheet? Maybe you could scoot over a little?"

In spite of the pain, Carina couldn't keep the giggle in at his teasing. "You're so going to pay for that," she said. "Someday soon."

Steven stood up. "Sorry," he laughed. "That was too easy."

Carina was fully trained as a spy to keep her emotions to herself. But when she looked into his eyes, that training failed her. The laughter died on her lips as she grasped his hand. "Please don't leave," she pleaded.

Steven smiled as he stood by the bed. "Don't worry," he assured her. "I'm not going anywhere. Ellie wanted me to come and get her as soon as you were awake."

"Can I tell you something first?" Carina asked quietly.

Steven was surprised at the vulnerability in her voice. "Of course," he answered.

"I didn't think I would ever see you again," Carina said. "Look, Steven. I don't know how to say this. I still don't know the first thing about romance. I still don't think I can be a girlfriend. I sure don't want to make you any promises that I can't keep. But I like being with you. Even if we discount the sex, I like what we have. Maybe it's hero worship. I'm not sure that I understand it. But it's…comfortable. You make me laugh. I'm discovering how much I need that. I actually like it a lot. I'd like to see where this goes. The worst thing that could happen would be for one of us to do something stupid… like fall in love."

"I understand," Steven said. "I don't think we can discount the sex. I'd like to point out that we haven't had any sex yet. So maybe we can just enjoy what we have and try to not put any labels on it. I'll try hard not to fall in love."

"Actually, I was talking about me," Carina clarified. "You saved me. I don't think you get what that means. I'd like to hear the full story someday."

"There's not much story to tell," Steven said. "Sarah and Casey did all of the dirty work."

Carina paused a moment to gather her emotions. "I seriously doubt that Sarah and Casey found me all on their own," she protested. "I'm sure they had some help. So even if it wasn't true before, now there is definitely going to be sex… lots and lots of hot, wild sex. If this is a negotiation, that's a deal breaker."

Steven smiled again. "I don't think you're a very good negotiator," he said. "You should save the deal breakers for something controversial. So I can live with your terms… as soon as you're up for it. I'd better go get Ellie. When she gets all into bossy, doctor mode, she can become a little… hard to live with."

Ellie picked that moment to come into the room. "I heard that," she said. "I have to be bossy. Who knows what you two would be doing if I wasn't around." She turned to her dad. "Don't you have important duties elsewhere?" she asked playfully. "I don't think I have to tell you what Sarah will do to you if you let anything bad happen to Chuck while you're in here trying to play grab ass."

Steven smiled. "I'm afraid that she's right about that," he said. He hesitated for an awkward moment before placing a kiss on her forehead.

Carina wasn't going to allow him to get away with that. "A grandpa kiss?" she asked. "Seriously, Steven? I get that we haven't defined the exact boundaries of our physical relationship yet. But surely, we're past a kiss on my forehead. Ellie, can you see what's going on here? Or are you really this clueless? Will you please turn your head for a second so I can get a proper goodbye kiss?"

Ellie looked at her dad. "One second," she agreed as she held up a single finger.

"Then you depart, leaving the negotiations on the exact boundaries of your physical relationship for another time, hopefully when I'm not in the room, and let me examine my patient in peace."

x-x-x-x-x

Casey and Sarah were in the van outside of Roark Industries World Headquarters. There really wasn't much they could do. If this went south, there were far too many guards they would have to fight through to get to him. If anything bad happened, it would be up to Chuck and his Intersect to fight his way out. But Sarah found that she couldn't stay away.

They were monitoring Chuck's wire. "I hope that Orion knows what he's doing," Casey sighed. "Giving Fulcrum thousands of Intersects doesn't seem all that bright to me."

"I don't know," Sarah replied. "He said that he had a plan. You'd have to admit that he is a genius. I guess that it's just time to trust him."

They were silent for a long, long time. Finally, Casey couldn't take the silence anymore. "Can I ask you a question?" he finally asked. "You and Bartowski. I don't understand. He's not your type at all. Turning from badass to lovesick over an asset seems like the very last thing that the Sarah Walker I know would do. I can't figure it out."

In spite of the incredibly tense situation, that got Sarah grinning. "You and me both pal," she teased. "You're right. Falling in love, with anybody really, but especially an asset, is the very last thing the Sarah Walker you knew would ever do. For some reason, I now find myself saying and doing silly romantic things that I never would have before… things that I would have snickered at other women for saying and doing. The only way that I can explain it is that Chuck changed me. He loved me for an entire year, knowing full well that he was never going to get anything back. He loved me even when I was treating him like crap, even when I was shouting at him that I was just doing my job… that nothing would ever happen between us. I'm not sure that I can explain what that was doing to me. I tried to deny it. That worked for a while. But it was hopeless. I was just too scared to tell him."

Sarah paused for a moment to gather her composure. "Then the unthinkable happened," she continued. "I thought I had lost him. I quickly discovered that I didn't want to live without him. I was about to throw my life away on a suicide mission to get revenge. So when I was given a second chance, something had to change. I realized that I had been throwing my life away for years… over my stupid hang ups… out of fear of allowing someone to be in a position to hurt me. There really was no decision to make, so I gave up. I decided to go all in. I told myself that this man would never hurt me. He was someone to claim for my very own… someone to fight for and never let go… someone to stand beside and someday have his babies. So I'm a different person now. I can't begin to describe how wonderful it feels to finally have a life. I actually like myself when I'm with him. As fanatical as I used to be about… well, about everything, I'm even more fanatical now about making him happy. I just wish I had the words to explain all of that to him."

"Okay," Casey groaned. "I get that. I think that you may be underestimating him. He's fine with the way you're explaining it. But can you wait until we're home to make him happy?"

"That's not something that I'm eager to witness… ever again."

x-x-x-x-x

Carina looked up at Ellie as she took her pulse. For the first time, she realized that she was hooked up to a variety of ominous looking, hospital type equipment. "So, doc," she said. "What's the prognosis?"

Yesterday that would have led to a giggling session. Today, the constantly giggling, best friend thing they had quickly developed would have to wait. Dr. Bartowski had instantly transformed and was in full professional doctor mode. "You have some serious healing to do," she started. "All in all, I'd say that you're pretty lucky. The most serious thing that we know about is the two cracked ribs. We'll have to get you a padded brace to protect them. They are going to be very sore, maybe for as long as six weeks. Once we got normal circulation back into your arms, they recovered almost instantly. Your wrists were a bloody mess but there is no permanent damage. The burns on your front and lacerations on your back will quickly heal on their own. Hopefully, the scars will fade in time. Your left knee is swollen. What happened to it?"

"Wow," Carina teased. "Your dad's right. Bossy Dr. Bartowski is a little hard to live with. No offense, but I don't feel all that lucky. The sadistic bastard kicked me. It hurt like hell. It's funny, though. He never asked me any questions."

"Just give me one more moment to be the professional doctor," Ellie said. "Then I'll turn back into your friend. I don't think there is any structural damage in your knee but it's impossible to know for sure without an MRI. If you're not walking on it this afternoon, we'll find a way to get you one. He was a pretty big man. He was never going to ask you any questions. His job was to soften you up so that you would answer Beckman's questions. Just so you know, he's currently in hell where he belongs. Sarah shot him in the head about a thousand times. She kept her promise and let Casey send Beckman to join him there. How is your pain now?"

Carina put on her brave face. "It's pretty good," she said. "As pain goes. You mentioned Chuck. How is he doing? Is he in danger?"

Finally, Ellie couldn't keep in the grin. "You can put badass Agent Miller away," she said. "We don't need her at the moment. Don't worry about Chuck. We have the situation under control… well, as much as our situation is ever under control anyway. Agent Miller is on the bench for the foreseeable future. Currently, you're just Carina… my patient. I'm going to give you something for the pain. You really need to get a few more hours of sleep. Maybe after you wake up, you'll feel better. This afternoon we can take a walk and see how everything is working."

Carina could already feel the soothing sensation of whatever Ellie had just injected into her IV. It felt… wonderful. "No offense," she said. "But if I get to choose, I'd rather play doctor with Devon. Especially if we're going to see how everything is working."

That got Ellie grinning. "You're impossible," she teased. "Maybe you can play doctor with Devon someday. I'll ask him about it. But when it comes to real doctors, Devon is a heart surgeon. I'm an ER attending. I deal with broken bodies like yours every day. You're in better hands with me."

Carina was stunned. "You would let me play doctor with Devon?" she asked. "Really?"

That got Ellie laughing out loud. "No," she teased. "Not really. I just didn't want to crush my patient's spirit until she's healed. Besides, you already have staked your claim to my dad. You want my fiancé too?"

"Now you're just being greedy."

x-x-x-x-x

The process of intersecting almost five thousand agents, who were spread out all over the world, was surprisingly easy. All Roark had to do was to issue an alert, wait until they were all signed into the Fulcrum web site, and play the encrypted file Steven had sent. It worked like a charm. Steven convinced Roark that he probably shouldn't be part of this initial group. He was far too public of a figure to be identified as an Intersect. After all, he wouldn't ever be going into the field.

The upload process only took about a minute. The testing was easy. Reports were quickly coming in from around the globe from new Fulcrum Intersects boasting about their new capabilities. There really wasn't anything for Chuck to do. He just sat and watched, looking for any sign of the double cross that Dad had warned was very possible. Finally, Roark was convinced that this was a success. So he sent Chuck on his way with a message for his 'boss'.

"Tell Steven that it's good to be partners again."

x-x-x-x-x

They say that a watched pot never boils. Well Sarah was very close to boiling, watching the minutes tick off the clock. So she couldn't keep the silly, schoolgirl grin off her face as they finally saw Chuck exit the building. She opened the van door for her husband with that same, relieved grin. To her credit, she was able to stay mostly professional until Casey had driven them out of the area. After all, Fulcrum was now the most powerful organization in the world, with perhaps the only current exceptions being the governments that controlled nuclear weapons. It made sense to keep a defensive posture until they were out of sight. But quickly enough she was sitting on his lap, showering his face with kisses.

Finally, Sarah rested her head on Chuck's shoulder comfortably. "We're never going on separate missions again," she sighed contentedly. "I'm putting my foot down. That was too hard."

Chuck smiled as he rubbed her arm lovingly. "Our dry spell has reached three days," he said playfully. "That's completely unacceptable for a honeymoon. Not to get overly crude… but it's getting harder by the second."

"I can feel that," Sarah giggled. "It's actually getting quite uncomfortable to sit on. What do you propose that we do about it?"

Chuck reached over and unbuttoned the top button on Sarah's blouse. "Maybe it's time to initiate the van," he said. "Maybe we can find Ditzy Jenny. The girl owes me."

Okay, it was well documented that Sarah was easily aroused ever since their unofficial wedding. Chuck was right. It had been a long three days. It was totally unacceptable for a honeymoon. His being aggressive had always been an instant turn on. Mentioning Ditzy Jenny was just the kicker. So when she felt his lips touch hers… well, she lost control for a moment. All she could do was to moan softly as their tongues danced. When she felt his hand slide into the top of her shirt her arousal kicked into a gear that she didn't even know that she had.

All she could do was watch helplessly as Chuck worked her second button open. "Sweetie," she whispered. "I'm on fire. I'm all for going for it right here. But I sorta promised Casey that we'd keep the clothes on until we got home. Can we wait for another twenty minutes? We'll find Ditzy Jenny and she'll spend the rest of the day paying off her debt to you."

Chuck grinned as he finally had her shirt completely unbuttoned. "Here's the thing," he teased as he pulled the sides of her shirt open. "Technically your clothes are still on. Maybe Casey needs to pay a price for extracting such an imprecise promise from you. I've come to the conclusion that we talk entirely too much about sex and spend entirely too little time actually doing it."

Sarah's eyes sparkled as they lit up the van. "Why, Mr. Bartowski," she giggled. "That's an absolutely brilliant observation. What do you propose that we do about it?"

"That's easy," Chuck said as he pulled her into a kiss. "It's hard to talk when our mouths are occupied."

As their tongues danced, Sarah quickly realized how much she had missed this for the past two days. Sure, she was on fire. But sex wasn't really it. She missed the conversation. She missed him constantly making her laugh. She missed the comfortable intimacy. She missed… him. And okay, yes, she missed the sex. So she mentally kicked herself when Chuck's hand slid into her open shirt and she flinched a little. Hopefully he wouldn't notice.

But he did.

He immediately pulled her shirt to the side and pointed to the huge ugly bruise on her chest. "What the hell is this?" he asked.

Sarah knew that whatever Chuck had planned to officially initiate the van was now on hold. Maybe she could get this back on track. "It's nothing," she replied, as casually as she could. "I took a shot on our assignment to rescue Carina. The dude was pretty big."

"Has Ellie looked at it?"

"Sweetie, it's just a bruise. This happens when you get into fights. It's no big deal."

"It looks like a big deal," Chuck insisted. "Has Ellie looked at it?"

"Chuck, please."

"Has Ellie looked at it?" Chuck demanded, this time much more insistently. "Really, Sarah. It's a yes or no question."

"Yes."

"What did she say?"

Sarah sighed. It was now pretty obvious that this wasn't going to go well with him. "She was pretty busy with Carina," she admitted. "She said that I should take some Tylenol, keep ice on it, and to come back and see her if it was still painful after a day."

"And you didn't do any of those things, did you?"

"Chuck, please don't be upset with me," Sarah sighed. "You know how much I hate that. We were all busy. I didn't have time to do those things. Carina was in bad shape. She was everyone's first priority. You were still in danger. And I didn't think it was a big deal anyway. Things like this happen when you get into fights. I've been in much worse shape than this. It will be sore for a few days, and that will be the end of it."

Chuck pulled her in close, being very careful of her injured area. "I'm not upset with you," he said. "I'll admit, I'm a little annoyed. Lone wolf, Agent Walker is gone. You're not her anymore. Sarah, you're part of a family. We need to take care of you. You didn't go to medical school. What's the use of having an E.R. doctor on the team if you're not going to do what she says? Trust me. If you want to see upset, wait until we get home and tell Ellie that you didn't follow her instructions."

"She doesn't ever take that well."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck was usually right about these things, especially when it involved his sister. And this was no exception.

Sarah wasn't used to being lectured, especially not by someone she considered a sister. Unfortunately, Sarah's sister wasn't around. Instead she found herself face to face with the much less friendly Dr. Bartowski.

As soon as they walked in the door, Chuck went and got his sister. Within a couple of minutes, Sarah was standing in Chuck's office with her shirt off, being examined. "Ellie, please," Sarah pleaded. "This is no big deal. Tell Chuck that it's fine."

Ellie didn't answer. She just continued to gently examine the area surrounding her bruise. "You're wincing," she said. "How much pain are you in?"

Sarah hesitated a little. The truth was it hurt like hell, especially when she was pressing on it in her examination. "It's pretty sore," she finally admitted. "Aren't we making too big of a deal out of this? It happens to spies all the time."

"So," Ellie answered somewhat sternly. "The way I hear it, lots of bad things happen to spies all the time. Yeah, I watch the movies. I know that spies would probably stitch themselves up using a needle and thread. But guess what, Sarah? You're no longer a spy, so maybe you can drop the Rambo act. Is there really any reason not to take a couple Tylenol and keep an icepack on it for a day? Or do you enjoy being in pain? Is it some kind of fetish?"

Sarah's face turned red. "It's not a fetish," she finally sighed. "Ellie, we're on our honeymoon. It has already been three days."

Ellie turned to Chuck so that Sarah wouldn't see her grin and picked up a pad of paper. "The only real danger would be a blood clot breaking loose and causing issues," she said. "Where her injury is located, the risk of that is very, very low… but it's also not zero. She should be fine in a few days. I'm writing you some instructions. Your job is to make sure that she follows them this time."

"I'll look at her again tomorrow."

x-x-x-x-x

As a doctor, Ellie usually tended to be on the cautious side. But Carina was going crazy stuck in bed. So Dr. Bartowski gave in, removed the IV, and told her patient to rest. She promised that she'd be back in a while to help her walk a little.

When Ellie got back to the guest room where Carina was 'resting', she found that her dad was already there, helping Carina try to walk. She had her arm tightly around his neck, her body crushed into his. Steven was supporting her weight, best he could, as she hobbled around the room.

Ellie watched her struggle for a minute. "This is very bad news," she said. "I was hoping that your knee would be better than this by now. We're going to have to find a way to get you that MRI." She turned to her dad. "If there is any structural damage, we're going to have to fake an identity for her to get surgery. Devon isn't really qualified to do this type of orthopedic procedure and we don't have the facilities."

Carina just grinned at her doctor and friend. "That probably won't be necessary," she said. She removed her arm from around Steven's neck and took a few normal steps. "It's still a little sore. But it works." She waited until Steven had stopped laughing at being played so convincingly. "There's probably something you should know about me. When it comes to getting something that I want from a man… well, I don't have a lot of morals."

Ellie shook her head as she laughed. "You're impossible," she said. "How is the pain in your ribs?"

"They're sore," Carina admitted. "But the Vicodin you gave me really helps."

Ellie nodded. "Keep taking them," she said. "I'm going to give you the same lecture I just gave Sarah. Don't be a hero. There's nothing heroic about suffering in silence. When it gets to be more than just sore, tell me so that I can do something about it. There's absolutely nothing to be gained from being in pain."

"So, Doc," Carina said playfully with a glance towards Steven. "What's the word on resuming… um… normal physical activity?"

Ellie shook her head. "You're really going to rub my face in this, aren't you?" she groaned. "You're going to have some very sore spots for a while. You're going to want to temper your urge to engage in some of that 'normal physical activity'. I'll tell you what."

"Do anything that doesn't hurt."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah didn't bother to put her shirt back on. She just held it to her chest for the short walk down the hall to their bedroom, just in case Steven was about.

Chuck was a few minutes behind her. He was carrying a bottle of Tylenol, a glass of water, and an ice pack.

"Chuck," Sarah protested, as she swallowed the pills and gently applied the ice pack. "You really don't have to pamper me like I'm some sort of helpless… princess."

Chuck just grinned at her. "A couple of things," he started. "First, I don't think you're a princess. I think you're a goddess. Second, no one could ever possibly call you helpless, at least nobody who has ever seen you kick someone in the side of his head. Third, I love to pamper you. So quit arguing with me and let's get ready for bed."

Getting ready for bed wasn't going to take long. Ever since that night in the hotel with Carina, they found that they enjoyed sleeping naked. Chuck quickly had her pants bunched around her ankles for her to step out of. "No panties, I see," he noticed approvingly.

Sarah was still making little effort to hide the fact that she was pouting. But she had to admit, he was being very, very cute. "I'm a 'law and order' type of person," she deadpanned. "I follow rules." She waited until he was in bed beside her. "Sweetie," she said, her voice little more than a whisper. "It has been three days. Isn't there something we can do that Dr. Bartowski would approve of?"

Chuck didn't really answer. He just grabbed Ellie's instructions from the nightstand and handed them to her. As soon as she started to read them, she could feel him kissing her navel.

It was hard to make Sarah blush, but Ellie's rather vivid words written in her flowing handwriting did the trick. She watched with a grin as Chuck slowly made his way down her body, kissing as he went.

Finally, Chuck was at his destination. At first, she placed her hand on the top of his head to hurry him along. But she quickly remembered that was a no-no with Chuck and removed it. He lifted his head to grin at her. "Hey," he said, as he got to work.

"Doctor's orders."

x-x-x-x-x


	20. Two Down, One to Go

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _As always a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **Two Down, One to Go**

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck didn't realize how tired he really was. The last few days had been full of tension and activity. He found that his bed simply felt soooo good that he couldn't make himself get up. Sure, he could hear the muted sounds through the door. It sounded like a big group having a good time. But it was the aroma filtering through his nostrils that finally inspired him to find out exactly what was going on. So he threw off the covers, pulled on his shorts and t-shirt, and followed the scent that had his nose so excited.

Sure enough, his nose was right. Sarah was making her famous French toast. He was surprised that everyone was there. Chuck wasn't sure where Dad slept last night. Ellie wasn't going to spend the night, so she and Devon must have made an early morning of it.

Chuck was honestly even more surprised that Carina was out of bed and sitting there… and that she and Ellie were giggling into each other's ear like they always did. He hadn't seen her yet, but the way he had heard the story, she was pretty messed up. And when he looked closer, he did notice that she was moving pretty gingerly… but nothing could keep that ever present mischief out of her eyes. He made a mental note to talk to her sometime when she was alone to make sure she was okay.

Sarah was the first one to notice Chuck standing there. Her grin, as she sauntered over to him, lit up the, already bright, kitchen. Maybe she figured that Chuck was getting over his aversion to PDA. Maybe Sarah no longer cared. Maybe she was trying to prove a point. Whatever her thought process, the kiss that she plopped on him was very long… and very wet.

"We're trying to eat here," Casey finally bellowed in protest. "You're going to burn the French toast."

The food burning was probably the one argument that could have gotten Sarah to end, for the moment anyway, the make out session. She just grabbed Chuck's hand and playfully pulled him along with her to the stove.

"Good morning to you, too," Chuck teased as he watched her flip the slices that were on the griddle. "I take it that you're feeling better. I thought we had some rules established about your attire here in the kitchen."

Sarah turned so that she was facing Chuck, with her back to the table where the family sat. She pulled her robe open to show him that she was naked under it. "I take the attire rules you've established very seriously," she said, emphasizing the point with a sexy wiggle. "Forget the apron. Say the word and I'll drop this robe and be in full compliance. I should have cleared this with you beforehand, but you were so cute sleeping."

Chuck stroked his chin in faux thought. "Let's think about this," he teased. "Devon has never had the chance to see my amazingly beautiful wife's complete package in all of her glory like Casey has. At least, I don't think so. Has he?"

Sarah's smile was quickly replaced by a distressed look. "Of course not," she replied, now honestly offended. "Do you really think I would hide something like that from you? Besides, Devon's a doctor. I'm sure he's seen women with a complete package that's more impressive than what I have to offer. It's Dad that I'm worried about."

"Sarah, I was just teasing you," Chuck replied. "Not to argue, but I seriously doubt that Devon has seen any women with a package that's more impressive than what you have to offer. They don't exist. We'll find another time for me to brag about the amazing beauty I'm married to… when Dad's not here."

Sarah's smile was quickly back and she closed her robe. "You have a deal," she said. "But first, let's get something very straight." Sarah turned to the table. "Dr. Bartowski," she called. "Will you please verify that my doctor has removed me from Intensive Care?"

Ellie laughed. "Did it really hurt that much to take it easy for one night?" she asked. "I guess I can authorize you to resume normal activities. And knowing what you consider to be 'normal activities', well… would you like any written instructions?"

"No thank you," Sarah answered over the roar of laughing and teasing coming from the gaggle. "I've got this one covered all on my own." She turned to her husband. "You pampered me all night," she said, poking a finger into his chest for emphasis. "So after breakfast you and I are going into that bedroom. I'm going to be doing some pampering of my own. We're going to do whatever I can think of… for as long as I can think of it. Devon is going to stand by just in case my 'pampering' causes you to require medical attention. Just between us, I'm currently not in the mood for any protest. Actually, I really don't want to hear anything come out of your mouth with the possible exception of 'yes, ma'am'. Do we understand each other?"

Chuck looked at his wife carefully. She was smiling. But the look in her eyes plainly said that she was only half kidding and in no mood to be trifled with. When Sarah felt like she had something to prove, the best course of action was to get out of the way and watch her prove it. And who was he kidding? What moron would turn that down anyway? So he said the only thing possible given the circumstance.

"Yes, ma'am."

x-x-x-x-x

"You wanted to talk to me?"

"You're late," Roark growled, the anger in his face clearly visible in the monitor. "Steven, I expect much more attention to detail from my employees, especially ones who I just gave a hundred billion dollars bonus. Where is this magic you promised that is going to make us that boatload of money?"

Steven didn't give an inch. "First of all, I'm not your employee," he said. "That wasn't our deal. We're equal partners. Secondly you didn't 'give' me anything. I was always entitled to half of the company. Don't worry. The magic is coming. It's only been one full day."

Roark ignored him. "I want you here," he demanded. "Today… where I can keep an eye on you. I'll have some living quarters prepared."

Steven shook his head. "I don't work well under those conditions," he protested. "I'll stay here. Our deal was that I would build a research facility to work in. That's what I'm going to do."

"And I'm revising our deal," Roark shouted. "I am in control of five thousand supermen. Don't make me come and find you."

"So," Steven replied. "Let's call this what it is. You're double crossing me?"

Roark's derisive laugh contained no humor. "Call it whatever you'd like. Did you really think that you could make me the most powerful man in the world and not do what it takes to keep me happy? You should be thanking me. I'm keeping your family safe… for now anyway. Don't make me rethink that."

Steven looked directly into the camera. "Find me if you can," he stated.

Carina had been sitting on the couch, just out of camera range, watching the exchange. "Can I ask you a question?" she timidly asked as soon as the monitor went dark.

Steven smiled at her. "You don't have to ask for permission to ask me a question," he teased. "I know that our relationship is still evolving… but surely we're past that point. I know. You're concerned."

"I'm very concerned," Carina admitted. "Five thousand Fulcrum Intersects? Roark's right. He's the most powerful man in the world. Are you safe?"

Steven's smile turned into a grin. He actually leaned over and kissed her… on the lips. It really wasn't much of a kiss… a peck really. But it definitely sent a message. It had Carina suddenly considering if she was physically able to… um… reward him for the gesture. Unfortunately, she wasn't. But she did make a mental note to 'thank' him properly as soon as she could do it and not pass out from the pain.

"We're safe," Steven reassured her. "It may not look like it, but I have the situation under control. Ted trying to double cross us was pretty predictable."

"Trust me."

x-x-x-x-x

For the moment, Chuck was too consumed with trying to breathe to try to talk. All he could do was to stare at his wife who was grinning like a Cheshire Cat. "That was amazing," he was finally able to choke out. "We're getting pretty good at the 'girl on top' thing. Your old boss, Skip, from the Weinerlicious, would have been very impressed. Somehow I thought that you had something wilder in mind when you dragged me in here. In the grand scheme of things, that was pretty tame."

Sarah's grin quickly dissolved into a determined look. "Did you actually just challenge me?" she asked incredulously. "Your trained tiger? Really? You still don't know me very well, do you? Mr. Bartowski, I must say. You're a lot dumber than you look."

Chuck knew that she was mostly kidding. Still, she was basically right. Challenging Sarah wasn't very bright… unless you wanted to be twisted like a pretzel, performing sex acts that were on the edge of being physically impossible for the next several hours. So he reached down and kissed her. She still tasted like maple syrup. Actually, she pretty much always tasted like maple syrup. "I wasn't challenging you," he protested. "I may be clueless, but even I know how stone cold stupid that would be. Besides, do you really think I'm complaining? I enjoy our regular lovemaking. But it's far more than that. I love every single thing about being married to you. Sex isn't even on the top of the list. I look forward to starting our life together… of getting into our regular routine… hopefully with Casey and Carina finding their own place to live… only coming by occasionally to visit. We have some clothing rules that we need to start enforcing."

Sarah's grin lit up the room. "Wow," she said. "Nice save. That was such a good answer. Very, very impressive. Here's the truth, sweetie. You're not looking forward to a regular routine, or having the house to ourselves, half as much as I am. I'm entirely willing to follow your clothing rules to the letter and walk around the house naked as a jaybird. Too bad it's not going to happen for a while. We're going to have to be patient."

Chuck leaned over to kiss her again. "I think that you need to get a little more excited," he replied. "I know that I am. The jaybird thing is closer than you think. Think of all the money that we're going to save on clothes."

Sarah sighed. "It's sweet that you're trying to cheer me up," she said. "In fact, it's so sweet that it needs to be rewarded as soon as you're physically able. But, let's face it, our war just got a lot more complex. Now we have thousands of Intersects to deal with. I have no idea how we're going to do that. Even if we have a deal with Roark, are we really going to stand by and watch Fulcrum rule the world? How long is our deal going to last anyway? We're never going to be safe."

Chuck pulled her in close. "Do you really think that Dad would give Ted Roark an army of supermen?" he asked. "When Ellie started working with Dad, she discovered a serious flaw in the Intersect design. In their modeling they found it would create too much activity and overload the brain. That would cause the person's blood pressure to increase. It would eventually be fatal."

Chuck smiled at Sarah's look of panic. "Don't worry," he assured her. "They fixed the bug in the code. I'm safe. But Fulcrum got the flawed version."

Sarah took a moment to think through what that meant. "That's why Dad talked Roark out of Intersecting himself," she finally said.

"Yup," Chuck said. "Roark can't die, at least not yet. He is too famous. It would create too much attention if he died right after making a hundred billion dollar stock transfer. We'll deal with him later. He's going to lose all of his protection, so he'll be a sitting duck."

Sarah pulled away from Chuck and sat up. "Two things," she said icily. "How long do they have? And, more importantly, why am I just hearing about this now?"

Chuck looked carefully at his wife. He considered himself an expert at reading her mood. But you didn't have to be an expert to know that she was currently pissed. That was a potential bomb that would be tricky to disarm. "Don't be upset," he said as soothingly as he could. "Nobody is hiding things from you. Dad didn't tell anybody. I only found out myself right before I delivered the glasses to Roark. With all of the commotion around trying to rescue Carina, he didn't have time to explain it. He knows that you don't like to be kept in the dark. Now he's kinda afraid that you're going to be pissed at him."

Chuck had just said the magic word. "Very funny," she finally sighed. "You know that I usually like it when people are afraid of me. But I can't stay pissed at Dad."

"I know," Chuck said in relief. "You asked how long they have. Ellie wasn't sure. It depends a lot on each individual. Some will fail quickly, maybe in as little as a week. A few of the stronger ones might last as long as a month. Roark is going to start watching his agents drop like flies. If we lay low for a few weeks, Fulcrum will cease to exist. We have two down and one to go."

That suddenly changed Sarah's mood. The end was now in sight. "The one to go," she started. "Volkoff seems like the hardest one of all to deal with. He's over in Russia. Does Dad have a plan? One that he's keeping from me?"

Fortunately, Chuck saw the smile in her eyes. "I don't know," he admitted. "I hope so. If he's keeping it from you, he's keeping it from me too. But let's worry about that later. For now, you still have some serious work to do."

Sarah turned her puzzled look towards him. "Work?" she asked. "I thought that we were laying low for a few weeks? Do I have a new assignment?"

"We are laying low," Chuck replied with a grin. "Not to be crude or anything, but actually, if you accept this assignment, you're going to be laying lower than anyone. It's not in the war realm. It's in the wife realm. You keep begging me to ask you for things. Let's see if you're all talk."

"I've decided what I'd like for my reward."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck and Sarah's basement was clearly turning into the family gathering place. It probably would be for years to come. It was just a comfortable place to relax. And it wasn't only the room. They had all become comfortable with each other.

It was a stunning statement. Spies were loners by nature. Sarah was probably a little different. She had always pined to belong to a loving family. It was the main thing that had been denied her as a child. But for the hardcore spies, Carina and Casey, to be so comfortable in this setting was nothing short of amazing.

Tonight was a little different than the last time they were down here. For one thing, the pizza had been replaced with an assortment of Chinese food. But the main difference was the girls. Sarah finally reluctantly allowed Chuck out of the bedroom to join the party. But she still had the fresh memory of her recent hangover to deal with, so tequila was off limits. She sipped on a soda.

Carina might have tipped back a shot or two, except that Dr. Bartowski got directly into her face. For the next two weeks she could either continue taking the Vicodin… or she could drink some tequila… but most definitely never both. It was an easy decision. Most of her injuries had pretty much healed. But her ribs were still plenty sore. That ruled out any dancing.

But the main difference was the guys. For some reason, they had replaced the girls as the main consumers of tequila shots. They weren't much for dancing. So they sat and talked instead.

"So," Devon said to his future father-in-law with a grin, as he held up his shot in a clear challenge. "Do you really have a hundred billion dollars?"

Steven took a moment to consider the question. "Not really," he said. "Roark transferred half of the preferred RI stock to the foundation. The value of that stock fluctuates with market conditions. The company has been in decline lately, so the value is dropping. Today, the value is a little less than a hundred billion. That's one of the main things we have to turn around. Besides, it's not me… it's us. The foundation is owned equally by the seven of us."

Sarah sat and let his words sink in. In another time, learning that she and Chuck had control of north of thirty billion dollars would have had her giddy. But not today. She was already giddy. It was a little odd. She knew full well that she had loved Chuck for the past year. But she wasn't prepared to actually be married to him. Those first couple of days had started off magical. But now it was ten times better. They were connecting at a level she never imagined possible. It was such an intense feeling that learning she was a billionaire seemed almost irrelevant. But there was still one task left. "What are we going to do about Volkoff?" she asked.

"Leave Volkoff to me."

Sarah was stunned by the sudden harshness in Steven's voice. There were very few people in the world who could speak to Sarah in that tone without suffering her left foot impacting the side of their head. Her face must have showed her shock because Steven quickly held out his hand to her. "I'm sorry that I raised my voice," he said softly. "This is personal to me. I'm really sorry."

Sarah knew that there was more to his reaction. She also knew that this wasn't the time to push him. So she let him off the hook and gave his offered hand a loving squeeze. "Don't be sorry," she said with a soft smile. "This is a party."

"We have a lot to celebrate."

x-x-x-x-x

Carina softly knocked on the door to Chuck's office before pushing it open. "I wondered where you snuck off too," she said. "Why did you leave? The party is just getting interesting. Chuck is rapidly approaching drunk as a skunk territory. Ellie tells me that can get quite entertaining… as long as your name isn't Sarah."

"I guess I'm not in the mood to party," Steven replied.

Carina's smile lost most of its humor. She sat on the bed and looked at him. "You don't want to deal with Volkoff," she stated. The words weren't out of her mouth before she realized that it sounded like an accusation… so she softened her tone. "This is about Mary… isn't it?"

Steven was stunned at how easily she could read him. He just looked at her for a long moment. "She's not ever coming back, is she?" he finally asked sadly.

Carina ignored the rhetorical nature of his question. "No," she answered. "Probably not."

"I always thought that she would eventually remember what we had and come back on her own," Steven sighed. "It's probably time to face reality and move on. She's with him now."

Carina sat and thought about what to say. The emotions were complex. She had been in the same exact situation as Mary once. And she had developed serious feelings for her mark, a guy she should have loathed, after only a few months. Mary had been with Volkoff for over twenty years. But that probably wasn't the best idea to put into his head at this point. "I know that I shouldn't be jealous," she said. "But I am a little. You really love her."

Steven shook his head sadly. "It's more complex than that," he protested softly. "You really don't have any reason to be jealous. You're not competing with Mary. I don't love her… not really. She's been gone for twenty years. I just miss what we had. This is all my fault anyway."

Carina got up and gently sat on his lap. "It's not your fault," she insisted. "Please stop thinking that. Not only is it not true, it's not healthy. Look, Steven, I'm sorry that I was jealous. That's foolish. I'm not trying to compete with Mary. That would be even more foolish. You had two kids together. I don't know exactly where you and I are going, but I'm dying to find out. I am fairly sure we're not going to get married and have two kids together. But if you really do want to move on, I'd like to help. I'll be here while we figure this out… together. I'd kinda like that."

Steven didn't say anything. He just wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. "I'd kinda like that too," he whispered. "Has anyone told you lately that you're incredible?"

"Not lately. Sometimes I don't feel so incredible."

"Well, you are." They held each other for a long time. "I'm sorry," Steven finally said. "Your ribs… am I hurting you?"

Carina paused for a moment to consider the question. The truth was that his pressing on her ribs had them on fire. "A little," she finally admitted as she snuggled into him.

"But don't you dare let go."

x-x-x-x-x


	21. Too Much of a Good Thing

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _As always a, big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _If you've read many of my stories (and good choice, by the way) you probably know that my oldest and best Chuck friend is BrickRoad16. We wrote two stories together as BillAndBrick that I'm very proud of. You've probably read some of her many contributions to the fandom. If not, I'd highly recommend them. They are as high quality as the Chuck fandom can offer. Anyway, she is following her dream of becoming a professional author. Her first novel, The Dying of the Golden Years, will be released for Kindle on September 30_ _th_ _. It's available for pre-order on Amazon for $3. I'm sure she would appreciate the support. And it's kinda cool to see someone graduate from our little fanfic community to the real world._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **Two Much of a Good Thing**

x-x-x-x-x

"You'll see."

Sarah stared at her sister-in-law for a long moment. They were playing pool while the guys sat and watched some stupid baseball game. That actually wasn't entirely accurate. They weren't playing. Sarah was showing Ellie some trick shots that she had developed over the years. One thing was for sure. Whatever Ellie was teasing her about, she was enjoying it far too much. She probably didn't realize that Sarah never had a high tolerance for people openly laughing at her. "What will I see?" she asked, maybe not openly annoyed, but without much humor.

Ellie was still enjoying her sport. "Chuck's been drinking pretty heavily," she explained. "He's not that much fun to be around. He gets… um, affectionate."

Sarah looked at Ellie skeptically. "That sounds like a good thing to me," she protested. "I love it when he gets affectionate."

"You'll see," Ellie insisted. "It's too much of a good thing. He's not affectionate in a fun, sexy way. It's in a sickening, 'slobbering on your ear' way while he cries about all of the problems in his life."

"Trust me."

x-x-x-x-x

Finally, Carina simply had to break the embrace. As wonderful as the cuddling felt, her ribs were on fire.

When she pulled back so that Steven could see her face, the pain there was obvious. "Why are you letting me hurt you?" he asked. "You have to stop doing that. It makes me feel horrible."

Carina forced the smile on her face as she fished the bottle of Vicodin out of her pocket and held it up for his inspection. "Don't worry," she said. "Modern medicine to the rescue. Two of these babies and I'll be good as new." Her grin turned a little evil. "Besides," she continued with a smirk. "From where I'm sitting, I can tell that I'm causing you some pain as well. Actually, it's getting fairly uncomfortable to sit on your lap. I'm afraid that I don't have any pills for you to take. In fact, the only pills I would have are designed to go in the opposite direction."

Steven laughed. "Yeah," he agreed. "I don't think we'll be needing any Viagra soon or… well, ever."

"I do hold out some hope," Carina teased. "While I don't think that modern medicine will be of much help, I can still look forward to curing you the old fashioned way someday. Unfortunately there's really nothing I can do for you right now. I don't want to start something that I can't finish. That should probably make me feel horrible too… but the truth is that it makes me feel pretty damn good. The more uncomfortable I am sitting here, the more I have to look forward to in the future. Maybe I can distract you by whispering in your ear some of the ways I plan to make this up to you."

Steven looked at her like she'd grown a third eye. "Do you really think that would help ease my pain?" he asked sarcastically.

"Probably not," Carina admitted as they shared a laugh. "But now I'm curious just how uncomfortable you can make me. That's a little selfish, isn't it?"

"It's very selfish," Steven teased, still laughing. "As soon as your ribs are healed, you're going to pay for that."

"I've been bad," Carina said with a faux pout. "I deserve to be punished."

They shared a long laugh. "You do realize that I'm old, right?" Steven finally asked. "Tease me too much and I'm likely to keel over."

Carina was laughing so hard that for a long moment all she could do was shake her head. "You look strong enough to me," she was finally able to get out. "I'll bet when the time comes, you'll be plenty capable of rocking my world without keeling over. But let's not find out… not today anyway. What were you working on?"

Steven also took some time to stop laughing. "The CIA is going nuts," he finally said. "Ted isn't wasting any time going on the offensive with his new army of Intersects. They have lost almost two hundred agents in the past week." Steven pointed to a list on his computer screen.

 _Missing and Assumed Lost_

 _Glayds Alvarenga_

 _Joseph Allen_

 _Fred Aster_

 _Diane Beckman_

 _Mark Brown_

 _Lilian Bulluck_

 _Sherron Candelaria_

 _Marvel Cutting_

 _Renetta Dunnigan_

 _Steve Haynes_

 _Cruz Lowenstein_

 _Jacinta Mary_

 _Shella Mcmillian_

 _ **Carina Miller**_

 _Iesha Moodie_

 _Benjamin Moore_

 _Caryn Raub_

 _Bambi Rosenbalm_

 _Rigoberto Rousselle_

 _Julianna Terrazas_

 _Sharan Yerkes_

"There are pages and pages of confirmed kills," Steven said. He pointed to her name. "They assume you've been killed and they just haven't found your body yet."

Carina pondered this new information for a moment. On balance, this was great news. Yes, there was a down side. Hundreds of brave agents had just paid war's ultimate price. Some, directly because of the capability they had given Ted Roark and Fulcrum. But it also meant that the CIA had given up looking for her. She was free to move on with a new identity and, with a few common sense precautions, live her life in peace. There was also another side for Carina, a personal one. It meant that she was no longer an agent. That was a little… scary. All the reasons that had led her to become an agent in the first place were still there. It was the only life she had known.

"I don't want to influence your decision," Steven said softly. "Our war is almost over. You can report in and tell them you were captured and escaped. You could go back to the way your life was before… or you can stay here with… um… with us."

His awkwardness was so endearing that any fear was instantly washed away. Carina couldn't keep the grin from her face at his shyness. "You mean, with you," she corrected in a teasing tone. "Why, Steven, that sounded almost like a proposal."

The red that was creeping up Steven's face combined with his lack of any protest said volumes. "I know that you've dedicated your life to something," he added. "I have no right to ask you to give that up and live on a beach somewhere with me and the family drinking tequila. Calling it a proposal… well, I'm not asking for your hand in marriage or anything. I get that you're uncomfortable with the idea of commitment or this being romantic. So I'll understand whatever you decide. But I like what we're starting here. I'd be sad to lose it. If you do stay, I promise that we'll find ways for us to continue that work. I'd like to be part of that. We have billions of dollars. That's a lot of opportunity to do good things for the world."

Carina bit her lip to keep from laughing. "If we're negotiating, I guess I can make some concessions. I can live with a little romance as long as it doesn't get sappy," she said in faux seriousness. "I may even be able to muster up some of my own. Spending a lot of time living with you on the beach and drinking tequila is also acceptable. I don't see the 'hand in marriage' thing happening, but I also don't think it matters from a practical point of view. But I do have one… um, demand to put on the table. I'm used to a rather robust sex life. I'm also used to driving the sexual agenda. Some of that, you might consider wild… kinky even. If we're going to enter into an exclusive arrangement that doesn't have an expiration date, I expect you to step up and make every effort to meet my needs."

Steven pretended to consider her terms for a moment. "Agreed," he finally said, mocking her faux serious tone. "I can live with wild, or even the occasional kinky… at least until I keel over. If we're negotiating, I'd like to reserve the right to occasionally drive the sexual agenda at my sole discretion. I may have something up my sleeve that gets us into kinky territory from time to time."

Carina couldn't hold in the laugh any longer. "Agreed," she snorted. "Anytime you want, at your sole discretion. I'd like that. If you do ever feel like you're about to keel over, let me know so I can call 911." She stuck out her hand. "Steven, I do believe that we have a deal. We only have one problem."

"Now we just have to find a way to consummate it properly."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah was sizing up the table, planning her next shot, when she felt him come up behind her, wrap his arms around her waist, and nuzzle her neck. This wasn't like Chuck. Maybe this was the beginning of the affectionate dude that Ellie had been warning her about all night. If that was the case, maybe they needed to stock up on tequila. "Why, hello, Mr. Sexy," she teased. "My name is Sarah. Have we met?"

"You've been sandbagging me on the strip pool thing," Chuck mumbled, in between some pretty wet kisses applied to her neck.

Sarah was wondering if this was the beginning of the 'torture' that Ellie was plainly so eager to witness. If so, the joke was definitely on her. Ellie was going to be disappointed if she was expecting any reluctance. The always aroused newlywed inside of her was more than willing to hop on that pool table and finish, in front of everybody, what she and Chuck had started here just a few days ago. Sarah's only worry was to make sure she stopped him from going too far in front of the family so he wouldn't be embarrassed when he sobered up. Indeed, his hands had already inched up from her stomach and were very, very close to 'feeling up' territory. His mouth on her neck had also transitioned into closer to slobbering. About thirty more seconds of this action and she was going to be dragging her husband upstairs to their bedroom for the duration of the evening. The night was too young for that…yet. So she shot her sister a gloating look and pulled away to face him. "Maybe a little," she admitted. "One of my dad's favorite cons was to hustle men into playing his teenage daughter and relieving them of some major cash."

Chuck paused for a long moment. "You had an unfair advantage," he finally said. "I'll bet they all were too busy trying to look down your shirt to concentrate on pool."

Whatever playfulness Sarah was feeling was instantly gone. She looked at him closely for the first time. His eyes were glassy and his words a little slurred. Worse, there was no sign that he was teasing. She knew that this was probably was a waste of breath, he wasn't in any shape to listen to reason, but she had to set the record straight. "It wasn't like that," she said softly. "I was a classic ugly duckling as a teen. It wasn't until I joined the CIA and got my braces off that I learned how to dress, do my hair, and put on makeup. That's when men started to try and look down my shirt. On balance, I'm not sure it was a good trade."

Trying to keep the mood light had clearly failed miserably. All Sarah could do was stare at his skeptical look. Again, this was probably a waste of breath, but she couldn't allow him to think those dark thoughts. "You're wrong," she repeated softly but firmly. "Chuck, it wasn't like that. Look, my dad will never be honored as parent of the year. Our relationship is complicated. He's let me down so many times that I've stopped expecting anything from him. When I was growing up, he put me in many situations that child protective services most definitely wouldn't have approved of. I'm not proud of some of those things. We were criminals. Graham and the CIA probably kept me out of prison. But, Dad wasn't my pimp. He honestly loves me. In his own way, he is just as protective of me as you are. He would never use me as bait in the way you're thinking, in fact, just the opposite. When you meet him, I'd appreciate it if we don't ever talk about any seduction school stuff or the things I've done as a spy. He wouldn't take that well."

Sarah could see the tears that were welling up in his eyes. When she glanced over at Ellie, her own earlier gloating look was being bounced right back at her in spades. So she just wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in close.

"I saw you kiss him," Chuck said, his words now noticeably slurred. "You were in my bedroom."

Sarah heart sank. She didn't have to ask any questions. She already knew who 'him' was. Chuck knew that she loved him. She was very sure of that. But there was clearly some hurt still there buried deep, only to surface when he was not fully in control. And why wouldn't there be? His heart had taken some serious hits over the past year.

Sarah mentally kicked herself. It was unfortunate that Chuck saw her kiss Bryce that time. When he asked her about it, she tried to deny that she kissed him. She knew that was a fib, her way of deflecting, something she would have to correct as soon as he was sober. Oh, Bryce definitely initiated that kiss. But she also definitely kissed back. That was stupid… force of habit. It had been a horrible situation. She was stuck between the man that she loved, yet couldn't be with… and the man she technically was still with yet didn't love. And she didn't handle it well. There had to be a way to explain that to him without dredging up all of those jealous feelings.

Something else was also clear. She needed to open up to him more. Sarah had been putting off the discussion of her parents… of her life as a con artist… of her mom and the baby. That was something that would have to be fixed… as soon as he was capable of having a serious discussion.

Sarah was so deep in her dark thoughts of remorse that she missed the fact that he was kissing her neck again. Well, kissing probably wasn't the right word. It was pretty sloppy. "Let's go to bed," she suggested. Chuck had been drinking. This wasn't the time to try and reason with him. He just needed to get some things off his chest. There was nothing to do except allow him to do it until he sobered up. But Ellie didn't need to gloat about this any more than she already was.

"We can talk all about it."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah watched him sleeping. It was well past the time they would normally be up. Then again, they really didn't have anything to do, so there was no reason to wake him up. One good thing about Chuck was that he was clearly more accustomed to drinking than she was. At least there was no puking involved.

"Are you mad at me?"

Sarah had been so consumed with how to start the much needed discussion that she missed the fact that his eyes were open. "Why do you think that I'd be mad at you?"

Chuck answered her question with one of his own. "Why are you wearing your pajamas?" he asked. "That's a little unusual." Then he paused for a moment. "Did I accuse your dad of being your pimp last night?"

Sarah made sure to smile at him. "I'm not mad at you," she replied calmly. "Not even a little bit. It was a little chilly last night and with your slobbering I was cold. I was also pretty sure you weren't going to be up for any fooling around. That's why I put on the pajamas. If anything, I'm mad at myself. You've taken the facts that you know and have come up with perfectly logical conclusions… but only because you don't have all of the facts. That's not your fault, it's mine. So, if you're up for it, I'd like to correct some things."

Chuck just nodded.

"Let's start with Bryce," Sarah began. "I probably haven't been entirely candid with you. I never loved him… not even close. We both knew that. But there was a time when I thought that being with him was the best I could hope for. A lot of our sex was only physical, emotionless… a payoff. But I'd be lying if I told you that I hadn't enjoyed it most times, or even initiated it sometimes. We went to Cabo once for a long weekend. I made myself relax and allowed him to get a little wilder than usual. We had a really good time. I'm not going to try and pretend that there wasn't quite a bit of sex that was more vivid than usual, or even that I didn't enjoy it. I did. That trip was probably the highlight of our relationship… but something was always missing. Later I figured out that I was trying to see if we could get to the next level. That didn't work. He had been playing me. There was no next level. So you saw him kiss me. And that image still bothers you."

Chuck nodded.

"I was so messed up during that time," Sarah sighed. "I was in love with someone who I couldn't be with… this too good to be true, sweet, nice, sexy guy who could always make me laugh. I didn't know what to do. It was an impossible situation. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, here was the guy who I could be with, back from the dead, and he was kissing me. So I kissed back. It was just an instinctual reaction. I'm sorry that you saw it, it didn't mean what you assumed, but it's also impossible to deny. I was confused… desperate. I've never told you this, but I had decided to leave with him that night when he asked me. I almost did. I was all packed and ready to go when he called. Given the situation, it was probably the best decision. I just couldn't do it."

"I'm glad," Chuck said.

That finally got a genuine smile. "I'm glad too… now," Sarah continued. "But I was messed up. It made us both miserable for a long time. And I get that in your mind I was torn between you and Bryce. That is the logical conclusion. But it was never that at all. That decision was easy. My conflict was between doing my duty and being in love. That was hard. I chose duty for a long time. That hurt you and I'm ashamed of that. But it never had anything to do with Bryce. It took watching you die to make me realize how foolish I was being." Sarah's battle for self composure was lost. Her upper lip was noticeably quivering and tears were streaming down her face. "I'm so happy that you're not dead."

"Me too," Chuck quipped. "I'll have to send Casey a 'thank you' card."

And there it was. No matter how down Sarah was… no matter how tense the situation, he could always make her laugh. Chuck just pulled her close and watched her giggle through her tears for a long time. "I know that you love me," he finally protested. "I don't question that. I get that I'm always going to be a little childishly jealous of Bryce. But I watched you shoot him in the head. If you still have feelings for him, it was an odd way of showing it. I was drinking last night. I might have said some things that don't make sense. I'm sorry about that."

"I get all that," Sarah insisted. "I believe it. We're far past any doubts. And I would never hold anything you said while you were drinking against you. But those thoughts are obviously still in there someplace and bother you a little. It probably always will. That bothers me. I want to go the extra mile… to do anything I can to get rid of those bad feelings."

Sarah paused for a long moment. "I don't tell you that I love you very often," she finally said sadly. "I use sex instead. That's more than a little self-serving. A logical person might take that fact and conclude that I question if I do love you. You're a very logical person. But here is another fact to put into the equation. The truth is, it's exactly the opposite. 'I love you' sounds like something that a teen would say on her third date. It's so far short of how I feel that it's silly. It feels like I'm insulting you. So I have a hard time getting the words out of my mouth…. but only because I don't have the words to adequately describe how I really do feel. And you can save your breath. I don't doubt that you understand that. I just want it on record."

Chuck pulled her in close. "Okay," he said. "Duly noted. I don't think either of us has any doubts."

"We don't," Sarah agreed as she snuggled comfortably. "But there is a fine line between being comfortable and taking things for granted. The last few days have been magical… the best of my life. I never imagined I could be this happy. I'm going to fight hard to keep it magical… even if I have to go outside my personal comfort zone. So in that vein, I want you to see something." She pulled out of his embrace, picked something off the night stand, and handed it to him. "This is my high school senior picture. You're the only person who I've ever shown this too."

Chuck could only stare at the picture in wonder.

"If you laugh," Sarah warned, clearly only half teasing. "We're going to have a big problem. But at least now you know that my dad wouldn't have been very successful as my pimp."

Chuck pulled her in close again. "I'm not going to lie to you," he said. "I'm happy that you're the most beautiful woman in the world. But if you think I would love you any less if you still looked like this… you're wrong. In fact, maybe fewer men would be looking down your shirt. That'd be a good thing… right?"

It was the perfect thing to say. Sarah didn't answer the rhetorical question. She just snuggled.

Suddenly Carina burst into the room. That wasn't really a surprise. Knocking wasn't her style. "Get dressed," she said excitedly. "We're on the move. Devon and Ellie are finally getting married."

"In Russia."

x-x-x-x-x


	22. Goldfinger

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _As always, a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _If you've read many of my stories (and good choice, by the way) you probably know that my oldest and best Chuck friend is BrickRoad16. We wrote two stories together as BillAndBrick that I'm very proud of. You've probably read some of her many contributions to the fandom. If not, I'd highly recommend them. They are as high quality as anything that the Chuck fandom can offer. Anyway, she is following her dream of becoming a professional author. Her first novel, The Dying of the Golden Day, will be released for Kindle on September 30_ _th_ _. It's available for pre-order on Amazon for $3. I'm sure she would appreciate the support. And it's kinda cool to see someone graduate from our little fanfic community to the real world._

 _Speaking of friends, the key scene in this chapter is a scantily edited ode to the brilliant creativity of my good friend VSC. It's from her very exciting 'The Codeword Files' which is available only on her blog. That story is a sequel to 'Sarah vs The Scenes' which is partly posted here and completed on her blog. While at its heart, it is the romantic love story of Chuck and Sarah reconnecting after Sarah's memory loss, I think most would agree that it's not for everybody. In fact, due to the adult themes, access to her blog is by invitation only. If after that warning, you still feel that you want to venture into Mistress Vicki's lair and offer your sensibilities to her, send her a PM._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **Goldfinger**

x-x-x-x-x

"You can't be serious. How exactly did this happen?"

Sarah made sure to keep her relaxed smile aimed at her husband. "Chuck," she started calmly. "Please don't freak out. This isn't a bad thing. You know how competitive I am. Carina challenged your abilities… your manhood. She said that you couldn't be sexy with a stranger. She was laughing at you. That got Ellie laughing at you. Was I supposed to just let that go? I had to stick up for you. So we made a bet."

"Carina was pushing your buttons," Chuck protested. "She enjoyed playing you like a violin."

"I know," Sarah admitted. "Chuck, do you think that I don't know that? She knew exactly what she was doing. I get that. But it doesn't mean she's right. She says that you can't do this. I need your help to ram it back down her throat. We can win this one. It will shut her up for a long, long time." Sarah leaned in to give him a gentle kiss. "Please?" she pleaded softly. "For me?"

Sarah had just gone nuclear… and they both knew it. There was no way Chuck was ever going to deny her almost anything when she made it personal like that. "That's not fair," he protested. "You know that I could never say no to you when you put it like that." Chuck couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of having told Sarah, just moments ago, that Carina was playing her.

Sarah's grin assumed that of a Cheshire Cat. "I know," she said, making no effort to hide the gloating in her voice. "I'm glad that you recognize my power. It must really suck to be you."

Chuck shook his head in frustration. "There are so many things wrong with this plan that it's hard to keep them straight," he continued. "Sarah, even if I win, what do I win? A pissed off wife? You got into a fight just the other day because you thought someone was looking at my ass. Now you want me to try and cheat on you? And you want me to do this while you're standing there watching? Do I have 'stone cold stupid' stamped on my forehead or something? Besides, I think that Carina is right. I'm not very good at this. I never have been. Do you really want to turn me into Bryce?"

Chuck had just gone nuclear all on his own. "I don't want you to turn into Bryce," Sarah responded sadly. "That was a low blow. You know me better than that. That would be horrible. I want you to play a role for one night. You won't be cheating on me. I promise not to get jealous. This is a game, nothing more. I'm going to enjoy watching it play out. There isn't going to be any sex. The bet is simple. We win if you can get a woman to agree to go home with you. That's when we'll make up an excuse and leave."

"We just got here," Chuck protested. "It took us two full days of traveling. Dad was being ridiculous. I think we changed planes twenty times. We're finally in Monte Carlo, one of the most famous resorts in the world. We're ridiculously rich. I thought we were doing this to hide out for a couple of weeks until the Fulcrum Intersects are no longer a threat. I was looking forward to having some fun here with you. Now you're turning this into a mission. I'm going to be forced to do something that is both uncomfortable and that I suck at."

"We'll make it fun," Sarah promised. "Chuck, sweetie, I can see the wheels turning inside your head. The thing is, you're worrying about nothing. This isn't a husband trap. You would never cheat on me any more than I would ever cheat on you. I don't worry about that at all. It's not in you. The very thought makes you uncomfortable. It's sweet. But I know that you can do this. I'll tell you what… we'll get dressed up tonight, go out for a fancy dinner and dancing, hit the casino for a while, and I'll show you how to act. I'll be your wingman. It'll be a fun practice session. Maybe I can even sweeten the pot a little. When the night is done, I'll break out the new negligee I've been saving and put on a show for your amusement. You'll be guaranteed to get very, very, very lucky."

"You and Carina," Chuck mused with a growing smile. "This is going to be my life from now on, isn't it? I'll be playing the role of ping pong ball as you two constantly try and one up each other."

Sarah matched her husband's grin. "I'm afraid so," she replied. "We've always been like this. But now I have the advantage. You're my secret weapon. I also wouldn't leave Ellie out of the equation. Thanks to Carina's influence, she's developing a sinister streak of her own. Don't worry. It's all in good fun."

"What could possibly go wrong?"

x-x-x-x-x

"Wow."

Sarah made no effort to keep the grin from spreading across her face. It was funny. Normally compliments like that rolled off her back like water off a duck. Chuck was different. He always had been. From day one, it had always been important to look her very best for him. Sarah was well trained in what to look for. She had studied him for a year. She knew exactly what he liked, what got his motor running, and she always made every effort to deliver it to him whenever she had an excuse. Even when she was trying to deny her feelings, it was one area where she couldn't fool herself. She wanted him to be attracted to her. Fortunately, she was something of an expert.

Although Chuck never said anything, he was clearly a leg man. So when she picked out this evening dress, she made sure that it had the highest slit possible yet still be decent to show off her long legs for him. She also knew exactly how he liked her hair. So she spent an hour putting it up with the ringlets framing her face. "Why, thank you," she said as she did a playful spin for his inspection. "That is exactly what I was going for."

"Do we have to go out?" Chuck asked. "I suddenly find myself wanting to do… um, something else.

"I'm afraid so," Sarah answered laughing. "We can't spend our entire life in bed. We have a mission. Besides, we can't waste getting this dressed up. But hold that thought for later. You're filling out that tux very nicely"

"Thanks."

Chuck's tone plainly said that he didn't believe her. "Here's your first lesson in scoring with the ladies," she said seriously. "You have to know how much they are looking at you and want you."

"First, I don't want to score with the ladies," Chuck argued. "Second, I appreciate the thought, but will you be serious?"

"I'm deadly serious," Sarah insisted. "Here is the honest, no bullshit truth. You're a good looking dude. You're a better looking man than Bryce ever was." She responded to his skeptical look. "It's true. Even Carina admits that. That's what started this whole bet business in the first place. But Carina is right in this one small detail. What Bryce had was confidence. He knew that women wanted him. He used that fact against them mercilessly. He'd flash that boyish grin and have them eating out of his hand. He made it a game to manipulate them into getting naked and think all the while that it was their idea. You don't have that. You're a nice guy. Manipulating a woman into getting naked for a loveless, one night stand doesn't even enter your thought process. That's the amazing Chuck Bartowski, who I fell desperately in love with and is soon going to be the father of my children. But we're leaving Chuck home tonight. Tonight, you're Charles Carmichael, lady killer. You show no mercy to any female who sits there fanaticizing about what you're like in bed and is trying to figure out how to find out for herself."

"That's what we need to work on."

x-x-x-x-x

Their table wasn't quite ready yet, so they decided to have a drink in the hotel bar. Chuck would probably never get used to so many men so overtly gawking at his wife. It was just one of the burdens that came along with being married to the most beautiful woman in the world. On balance, it was hard to complain… too much.

The place was filled with beautiful people, mostly rich and famous jet-setters. There was also the full complement of young, gorgeous, gold diggers who Sarah indicated always followed that crowd. Chuck normally wouldn't have noticed, but after Sarah's briefing, the caste hierarchy in the room was fairly obvious.

Sarah looked particularly ravishing tonight as she sat at one of the cocktail tables. Her long, red slinky gown that hugged every curve was dripping with subtle, yet very palatable, pure raw sexy. Even in this room, every eye, regardless of gender, had been conspicuously glued to her as they made their way to the table.

"Why, Mrs. Carmichael," Chuck quipped as he moved to his seat. "You apparently have both ends of the social spectrum covered. You're as big of a hit here with the jet-set crowd as you were in the biker bar. What a surprise."

Sarah ignored his teasing. "I need focus, Mr. Carmichael," she replied smoothly, mimicking his teasing tone while squeezing his hand. "Need I remind you that we are on a mission tonight? Like every mission that comes your way, this one is important."

Suddenly the epiphany hit him. That wasn't his wife sitting there… not exactly anyway. She had turned into Agent Walker. This was her life before she had met him. "I thought that tonight was going to be fun, Agent Walker?" Chuck asked as he took his chair and waved to the cocktail waitress.

Sarah took full note of his reference. She took a moment to will the anger from her voice. "My name is Sarah Bartowski," she replied firmly. "Agent Walker is dead."

"I'm not trying to start anything," Chuck sighed. "But this scene… the room filled with rich people in tuxes and evening gowns… this was your life. I'm playing a role. You're home. I had hoped this was going to be fun."

Sarah sat in thought for a long moment. She needed to get this conversation back on track… quickly or this mission was going to have an early end. "We both know where this is going," she finally said. "And before we get there, I just want to warn you. I'm not up for one of your silly 'you're out of my league' speeches tonight. Okay yes, I've been in this 'rich and famous' atmosphere more than a few times, sitting with a mark in a tuxedo. But I'm not home. I'm a million miles away from home. Get that nasty thought out of your head. This is as plainly as I can say it. My home is in Pasadena. I live there with my incredible husband, who I honestly worship."

Sarah paused for a moment to show him her smile. "Yes, I'm intense. I know that you think this is silly, but it's important to me. I'm always going to be intense when we have some important business to take care of. I'm surprised that you're surprised. But we're going to do this the new Sarah way. It is going to be fun. I promise. That, by itself, should tell you everything that you need to know about where my heart is. Agent Walker never had fun on a mission. She was always working. We're going to have fun. But first, I need focus."

Chuck's grin became crooked and toothy. "Okay, point well taken. I'm sorry. I'll give you your focus. Maybe now I'm a little afraid of finding out what the new Sarah considers fun. What's my lovely wife drinking this early evening?"

"A Cosmo will be fine. You're wise to always be a little afraid."

Chuck turned to the college aged cocktail waitress, who had just appeared. "Perfect," he said smoothly. "A little symmetry is always good, I think. A Cosmo for the lady… Titos and Cointreau. A vodka martini for me... also Titos... very dry, with three olives... shaken, not stirred."

"Very good, Sir," the waitress replied with a grin. "You sure look the part. I'm shaken and stirred. Would you like to run a tab, Mr... ?"

"Carmichael... Charles Carmichael," Chuck replied, with a cheesy Bondesque accent and a wink, handing her his brand new Platinum Card. "Yes, thank you, we'll probably have a couple, Miss... ?"

The waitress broke into grin. "You can call me Pussy Galore."

Sarah choked back a smirk, and cast the cute girl a thin predatory smile.

"I must be dreaming," Chuck murmured.

The waitress giggled. "I'm just kidding. It's Maryanne, Mr and..." she said with a short giggle, looking at Sarah with placating curiosity. "Mrs. Carmichael? Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

Sarah slowly nodded, her smile undiminished. I may not be able to help myself either. "When in Rome..."

"Never miss one of the Emperor's orgies," Chuck finished for her, still doing the exaggerated Sean Connery imitation.

Sarah's brow shot up as her smile turned wry. Maryanne's lips had parted in surprise. "Oh, Charles. Now what is Pussy going to think, you naughty secret agent? Those were good times," she teased. "The Emperor threw a fine orgy, didn't he Agent Carmichael? You were a pretty amazing part of it."

Chuck really didn't know where Sarah was going, so he just followed her lead. "As were you. The best of times. Just keeping the British end up, my love."

Maryanne coughed over an embarrassed giggle. "Right. I'll have those drinks for you right away," she said, turning to hide her blush as she waved Charles's credit card at her face. "It's been fun."

"Thank you, Miss Galore. The fun is only beginning."

Sarah giggled softly when the young woman cast them a curious smile and hurried away.

Chuck took note of her giggling. "What?" he asked. "She seems nice."

"You really don't get what just happened, do you?" Sarah asked, still giggling. "Our lovely Pussy was flirting with you… hard. And you were flirting right back… in front of your wife. Maybe there's hope for you yet."

"Just practicing," Chuck replied. "She's probably angling for a big tip. Besides, you were doing most of the flirting. I was just making sure that jealous Sarah doesn't come out to play and go on a three state killing spree."

"I can handle this," Sarah insisted. "First off, we're not in the states, so it would have to be a three country killing spree. But I promised no jealousy tonight, remember?" Sarah's smile was a little devilish as she leaned forward to place her elbows on the tabletop and cradled her face in her hands. That put her cleavage front and center when she drew the instep of her high-heel clad foot up his calf. "I have an unfair advantage. I know for certain whom you're going to be in bed with tonight… in the highly unlikely event that we make it all the way to the bed anyway. After all, our suite has so many possibilities for wicked encounters. This does feel a little surreal, doesn't it?"

Chuck slowly blinked and nodded. "Yes, it does." Sarah had used that word many times over the last several weeks. He knew it couldn't have been more true. "And you look... great... dangerously beautiful."

"Thank you." Sarah smiled demurely, belying the wicked glint in her eye. "You look great too... like you have a license to kill." Sarah paused for a moment to flash him a predatory grin. "I knew that amazing tux would be perfect for you tonight. This mission is very different, and it required something special."

"A seduction mission." Chuck looked down at his attire, and lifted his eyes back to hers. "I have to say, I never imagined that I would be on one… especially with you directing me."

"Like you said, a classic seduction mission," Sarah quipped coyly. "I want you looking and feeling your best while the horde of horny women is imagining ripping your clothes from your body."

"Thanks. I'll try to keep the horny women from damaging the tux for you. It was very expensive." Chuck glanced around the bar. There were a lot of eyes upon them. He turned to a grinning Sarah when Maryanne's lips clearly formed the word 'orgy' to the lady bartender at the drink station. "Fortunately, no one is looking at me… not when I'm sitting next to you. That dress is amazing. I must say it exudes power. You're attracting a lot of attention."

Sarah rolled her eyes innocently and dragged her tongue across her teeth. "You still don't get it," she answered. "Yes, they're looking. It happens. But they are looking at you every bit as much. As long as all they do is look, we take it as a compliment and tune it out."

Sarah's fingertips trailed across her cheeks as she dropped her chin and she steepled them in front of her pursed lips. For a moment she regarded her nerd carefully through her lashes before answering, continuing to stroke his leg with her foot. "Whatever am I going to do about this frustrating lack of confidence?"

"Your drinks, Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael," Miss Galore interrupted, setting their glasses on the table with an odd look on her face. "Can I get you anything else?"

Sarah's eyes took on a knowing look as she held up her drink. "Mmm, a tempting question," she purred. "This is perfect for now, Pussy. Come back in a bit after I'm lubricated and ask me that again."

Chuck almost dropped his Martini.

Sarah glanced at him and grinned before turning her eyes to Maryanne's round portals to her soul. Hmm. She's definitely curious. "There is one thing you could do for me, sweetie..."

"Yes?" the waitress replied expectantly, looking a little like a bird entranced by a stalking cat.

"I have to go to the ladies room in a minute. Please be a dear and look after my husband here while I'm gone. Women flock to him whenever I'm not around. Perhaps pamper him for me?"

"Of course. I'll take excellent care of him," Maryanne replied with a look of surprised curiosity in her eyes.

"I'm sure you will, my dear. Thank you," Sarah said with a wink.

"Having fun, Sarah?" Chuck asked when a still entranced Pussy Galore walked off subtly shaking her head. "You evil woman. I think Maryanne is beginning to think I'm one of your gigolos, Madame Carmichael."

"See how confidence works? Yes, as a matter of fact, I am having fun. Surprised? You were right to fear it a little." Sarah's smile grew, and she clinked the rim of her glass to his. "Maybe I should ask Miss Galore to join us... and set her straight? She might just be a little warm up for the main event tonight… a little side mission."

"Jesus, Sarah. Don't you think I have enough missions on my plate?" Chuck asked.

"There's always another mission, Charles. You know that."

Chuck studied his martini. "Let's see if I remember this," he said. "Hold by stem. Nod to mark." He tipped his glass back… and almost did a spittake, setting his drink down hard with a cough. "Yes," he finally croaked, "I've learned that the hard way over the past year. But let's take them on one at a time, okay?"

"Nice Roan imitation," Sarah quipped. "Except I'm not your mark… not tonight. I'm a trained, professional agent. I can easily manage several missions and operatives at once. And have fun doing it." As if to prove her point, she continued to stroke his other leg with her foot, going a little higher while sipping her drink.

"Trying to distract me, I see," Chuck said as he waved at Maryanne and held up his nearly empty glass, pointing to it. "And succeeding admirably, I must say. It's an incredible weapon that you possess."

"You possess the same weapon," Sarah mused. "You just need a little training on how to use it. It's not a toy and it doesn't come with an instruction manual. In the wrong hands it's very dangerous."

"Now you have my attention." Chuck said.

Sarah grinned, her eyes glancing over Chuck's shoulder mischievously. "That's always good news when on an important mission."

"Mission?" their waitress commented absently. "That sounds… exciting."

"Very," Sarah said with an evil giggle before draining the remainder of her drink and handing Maryanne her glass. She waggled her brows at the young woman. "He's a very special agent."

"Uh-huh," Miss Galore replied, trying to find words as she set their drinks on the table. "So it would seem."

"I was just about to brief him, if you're curious. However, then he'd have to do something to make you forget." Sarah's grin grew when her husband made a very un-Bond-like squeak.

The look on Maryanne's face was a picture of fright mixed with burning curiosity. "Ummm... forget?"

"It's his specialty," Sarah added with a snicker. She gestured to her Chuck, who seemed to have swallowed his tongue. "He's made me forget my own name so many times that… well, I forget. He has this thing that he does with his…"

"Sarah..." Chuck finally interrupted hoarsely.

Laying her hand reassuringly on the young woman's arm, Sarah held her other hand up to Chuck. "He's about to say 'one mission at a time,' my dear. Sadly, he's right. Regretfully, my best agent's sexual espionage dance card is full tonight. Take some time to think about what you saw. We'll be here for a couple of weeks with friends. Maybe next time you'll want to take a stab at forgetting."

"Sexual espionage dance card," Pussy said, exploringly chewing on the words, her eyes shuttling between her two dressed-to-the-nines patrons. "Umm... okay?"

Sarah tried hard to keep the gloating from her face as she looked into her eyes. Curiosity had killed many a cat… and now it had just bagged a pussy. "Good girl," Sarah trilled, taking a sip of her Cosmo. "Maybe we'll see you then. Thank you for the drinks."

Before Pussy could leave, Chuck gently grabbed her hand and pressed one of the plain white business cards that Dad had provided as part of their new identity into it. "I have a charity event to attend Friday," he said confidently. "Very highbrow… black tie… a bunch of pretentious rich people with too much time on their hands… almost assuredly very boring. Mrs. Carmichael has a prior commitment… a mission of her own. Maybe you could accompany me and keep me pampered in her absence. We'll meet her later for some dancing and… well, we'll see where the wind takes us. Leave me your number and I'll have my people whip up one of their special creations for you to wear… something that matches your blue eyes, I think. I'm a leg man so the slit will have to be high… something that shows off your amazing assets. That will certainly keep me pampered. My wife, on the other hand, she enjoys the maximum amount of cleavage. You have a marvelous body. I'm sure that you're going to be a vision, my dear." He lifted the hand he was holding to his lips and pressed a quick kiss. "I can't wait to see you."

Sarah fought down the snicker until a clearly enthralled Pussy had made her shaky retreat. "Why, Charles," she finally snorted out. "Bravo. So you have been paying attention. Welcome to the program. That was most impressive. Whatever has gotten into you?"

"I refuse to be underestimated," Chuck said with his most charming smile. "This is your game, ex-Agent Walker. I promised you'd get the full focus that you requested. Don't expect me to accept defeat to Carina without a fight any more than you. Besides, you're right. Our new friend has definite possibilities. With Ms. Galore on my arm, Carina would certainly have to publicly concede your bet. Maybe we could give the lovely Pussy an exciting night… together. That might be interesting."

Sarah sat and stared at him for a long moment. "Damn," she finally exclaimed under her breath. "I may have created a monster here."

Chuck's confident smile morphed into a grin. "Be careful what you wish for," he teased. "Do you think she'll give me her number?"

"Hell yes," Sarah said. "This is exactly what I've been trying to tell you. When you apply that confident charm, there isn't a woman living, myself included, who wouldn't crawl naked over broken glass to do your bidding. Did you see her eyes? She was ready to quit her job, go wherever you asked, and get busy with you right now. I know that I am. I bet that as we speak, she is most likely in the ladies room, doing herself a favor while imagining the possibilities. I think the odds are one hundred percent. If she doesn't, I will. I could use a new dress."

They sat there sipping their drinks for a quiet moment. Finally, Sarah stood. "I'm going to the lady's room to let her officially announce her decision," she announced. "We'll see what happens."

"Are you going to do yourself a favor?" Chuck teased. "That sounds like something I'd find fun. Not to be indelicate, but I'd prefer you save that for later tonight… when I can watch."

"You're disgusting," Sarah quipped with a grin. "As much as I admire the confidence, you're still disgusting. You also haven't quite earned that much reward yet. Keep trying. I'll be right back."

Indeed, Sarah hadn't been gone for thirty seconds before Maryanne was standing there. "This is so out of character for me," she started, as she handed Chuck the business card. "I usually don't date married men. I just… look, Charles, I'm not a whore… or a gold digger. I can't stand you thinking that. I've simply never felt like this before. This is so… dangerous. I'll hate myself for the rest of my life if I don't find out what is going to happen. Let me rephrase that. I think that I know what. I'm not sure of how… with who… or how many times. Thank you for the dress. It's very generous of you."

"Something tells me that I'm not going to be wearing it for very long."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah already knew by the gloating grin on his face. So she wasn't at all surprised when he handed her the card with the phone number written on the back. "Congratulations," she said with her own grin. "Your first and last conquest. I'm very proud of you. You've officially earned every bit of the reward I promised. See how easy that was? What did she say?"

"She's very excited," Chuck answered. "She said that she normally didn't date married men, but she'd hate herself if she didn't find out what was going to happen. Now we just have to find an invitation to a black tie charity event for Friday. It shouldn't be too hard. I'll put Dad on it. He loves that sort of thing."

Sarah's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Wait," she gasped. "Huh? This is over. We've won."

"Let me explain something to you," Chuck said firmly. "It's called situational ethics. I get that you don't have a lot of experience here, so I'll explain it to you. You made me play this little game against my better judgement. I get that you're trained to be very comfortable promising wild sexual things to men to get your bidding, while having no intention of ever paying off. I'm not comfortable with that. This nice girl is not an enemy agent. She's a real flesh and blood person with feelings. She doesn't deserve us messing with her head. We've just promised her the most dangerous, exciting night of her life. To disappear without paying off would not only be wrong, it would be cruel. We're going to deliver that night to her… and we're going to make it special. I'm putting my foot down."

"Chuck," Sarah said hesitantly. "Okay, yes, I get that I don't think about those kinds of things. I promised to not get jealous. But that doesn't mean I'm okay with you sleeping with someone. I wouldn't do that on a mission."

"Really, Sarah?" Chuck asked, now honestly offended. "Do you actually think that I would ever think about cheating on you? Now I'm officially pissed."

Sarah grabbed his hand. "I'm sorry," she quickly said. "Please don't be pissed. I'm just… confused."

"No kidding," Chuck replied sarcastically. "I have a plan. I'm going to fix her up with Casey. If anyone needs a little Pussy Galore in his life, it's Casey. Maybe we can even get him to move out of our basement."

Sarah slumped in her seat and allowed the relief to wash over her. "Nice guy meets spy," she mumbled to herself. "Why am I at all surprised?" She gave his hand a squeeze. "Okay, you win. We'll do this your way. We'll make it fun. There is one problem with your plan. I don't think that she is Casey's type."

"I know," Chuck sighed in defeat. "Me either. But we have to find some way to get him out of our basement."

Sarah pulled Chuck to his feet. "I think that our table is ready," she said. "I'm starving. Since we're sort of having this discussion, I want to ask you something. Why does it bother you when men gawk at me? It doesn't make them bad people. It should make you proud that I only have eyes for you. You do know that, right?"

Chuck considered the question. "You're absolutely right," he finally acknowledged. "Touché. Let's both agree to stop. To prove it, I'm going to show my beautiful wife off all night. Maybe you should lose the bra."

There it was, today's example of what Sarah had come to expect from her life. No matter what the circumstance, no matter how tense or down she was, he could always make her laugh. All she could do for a long moment was to playfully punch him in the arm as she giggled helplessly. "I'm very sorry for questioning you," she was finally able to choke out. "That was unacceptable. I'm surprised that you can't tell that I'm already not wearing a bra. Show me off to your heart's content. I'd like that. FYI, per your rules, I'm not wearing panties either. I'd be even more surprised if you want to show me off that much, but it's entirely your call. Since you already have me on fire, what else can I do to make this up to you? In spy terms, we call this a blank check. Offering one is a first for me. Just for context, if Bryce had ever obtained a blank check… well, I would have had to relearn how to walk properly."

Chuck ran his free hand over his chin in faux thought as they walked. "I don't know," he finally said. "I'm not Bryce. I sort of like the way you currently walk. But it's still going to have to be dramatic. You're going to be busy for the rest of tonight giving me the reward that I've already earned. I expect doe-eyed fawning all night. You already said that you'd crawl naked over broken glass to do my bidding. That seems a little extreme. Maybe we'll leave out the broken glass part."

Sarah started laughing again. "Very funny," she said quickly, moving to loop her arm through his as they walked. "Assignment accepted. Now that I no longer have to worry about your reaction, my mission tonight is to make every man we encounter willing to sell his very soul to the devil if he could just be you for one night. When we get home, crawling naked to do your bidding will be the tamest thing that happens."

"I told you that this would be fun."

x-x-x-x-x


	23. Revenge of the Nerd

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _As always, a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _If you've read many of my stories (and good choice, by the way) you probably know that my oldest and best Chuck friend is BrickRoad16. We wrote two stories together as BillAndBrick that I'm very proud of. You've probably read some of her many contributions to the fandom. If not, I'd highly recommend them. They are as high quality as anything that the Chuck fandom can offer. Anyway, she is following her dream of becoming a professional author. Her first novel, The Dying of the Golden Day, will be released for Kindle on September 30_ _th_ _. It's available for pre-order on Amazon for $3. I'm sure she would appreciate the support. And it's kinda cool to see someone graduate from our little fanfic community to the real world._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **Revenge of the Nerd**

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck stood and watched his wife as she straightened his tie. He had long ago come to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong with the way that he tied his ties. But Sarah couldn't resist fooling with them. Looking back, he realized that it was Agent Walker's way of being able to show some intimacy before she could admit awkward feelings. Of course things had dramatically changed for the better since those days. Agent Walker was dead, they were married, and she was free to touch him whenever and wherever she wanted, of which she took full advantage… but, well, old habits die hard. "An art charity auction to save the Black Rhino from extinction?" he groaned. "Could we possibly find something more boring? I don't know anything about art. While I don't necessarily have anything against Rhinos, of any color, saving them isn't high on today's to-do list."

Sarah started laughing. "Sorry," she replied. "It's all that your dad could come up with on short notice. Comic Con is in town, but it's not black tie."

"Really?" Chuck asked hopefully.

Sarah started laughing even harder. "No," she teased. "Not really. Comic Con probably doesn't make it to Monte Carlo. There's not a huge nerd population here."

"Yeah," Chuck grumbled. "Far too few nerds and far too many pretentious, overdressed, rich people… who all openly seem to want to sleep with my wife."

Sarah was still laughing as she handed him his earpiece. "Don't exaggerate," she teased. "From the look in their eyes, I seriously doubt that any of them had sleeping in mind. And it wasn't everyone, probably mostly only the men. So why all the negativity? Look on the bright side of things. Aren't you happy that I'm in demand? And I don't want to sound like a shrew wife or anything, but I'm not really up for listening to your incessant bitching. Tonight was your idea. I was against it, remember? Now I have to listen to you be charming with another beautiful woman. If anybody has some bitching coming, I think it might be me. And for the record, the other night you were intentionally showing me off as your blonde conquest. The modifications you made to my outfit bordered on inappropriate for public display. In the process, a few guys asked me to dance. What, exactly, did you expect to happen?"

"A few?" Chuck asked incredulously. "Try a few hundred."

"And I turned all of them down at first," Sarah insisted. "You heard me. It was you who insisted, remember?"

"Self-preservation," Chuck replied. "Where do you get all of that energy on the dance floor? Since you've already called me out on the bitching thing, I probably shouldn't admit this, but I loved having a blonde conquest. I had the most beautiful woman in the world, dressed on the edge of inappropriateness, fawning over me all night. Thank you for that. It's something that I wouldn't mind talking you into doing again sometime."

"You don't have to thank me," Sarah answered, her eyes lighting up the room. "You earned it. I ask you to put up with a lot. Now it's me who shouldn't admit something, but I wasn't acting. I had a really good time finally being able to show the world how head over heels I am. It was one of the best nights of my life. So you won't have to talk me into it. We're definitely going to do it again… probably sooner than you think. Maybe next time we can get even closer to the edge… maybe even wander over it a bit. That might be fun."

"That's good," Chuck said. "I think I need the practice. I promised to work on my jealousy issues. I'm even going to defer the questions about the details of how many times you were propositioned on the dance floor until later. I would think that you'd be proud of me."

"I am proud of you," Sarah said, still trying to control her giggling. "I'd be even prouder if we could skip that discussion altogether. Full disclosure, there were a few inappropriate suggestions. There were even a couple of hands that made extremely poor placement choices, perhaps to find out if I was following your orders and not wearing panties. You'll be happy to know that I'm something of an expert in making a man very sorry that he ventured into inappropriateness. I know exactly what words they hate to hear. If that didn't work, I had the left foot cocked and ready to deliver a more physical message. I appreciate the trust you displayed. And, if I remember right, you were richly rewarded."

"Okay," Chuck agreed reluctantly. "That's where you're right. Mrs. Bartowski, you were a wild thing downstairs on the dance floor. But you were even wilder dancing here in our suite just for me. It was probably the highlight of my life. That negligee was worth every penny. Too bad you destroyed it in your performance."

"There will be other negligees," Sarah said. "The shops are filled with them. You earned it. This is probably something that I should keep to myself, but I'll bet that I had a better time than you did. I loved seeing you so on fire. Tonight it's my turn to work on my jealousy. I expect a similar reward. To be completely fair, you can have a good time as well… if it works out for you."

Chuck pulled her close. "I'm proud of you too," he said as he reached down for a kiss. "It's hard to imagine how close we've become. We're in such a good place right now. I love you."

Sarah snuggled comfortably into him. "I know," she said. "I always knew that being married to you would be great. I daydreamed about it for an entire year. But this is getting ridiculous. We're at the place where nothing could touch us. It feels… well, as usual, I don't have the words."

Their tongues danced for a long moment. Sarah finally broke the kiss. "Hold on there, bub," she teased with a grin. "You have a mission to perform. I'm already anticipating my reward. Sweet talking and making out? Too much more of that and you're not going anywhere tonight. Don't start something that you can't finish."

"Yes, ma'am," Chuck answered.

"Agent Carmichael," Sarah said. "The entire family is standing by to make you look good all night. It's our mission to give our new friend the most exciting time of her life. As point man, here are your primary rules of engagement. You are authorized to charm Pussy Galore's pants off to your heart's content."

"But her dress has to stay on all night."

x-x-x-x-x

"Wow," Chuck said as soon as the door opened. "Pussy didn't tell me that she had a super model sister. Is she about?"

Maryanne blushed shyly. She was so nervous that she had almost forgotten that she would be Pussy Galore for the evening. "Don't tease me," she said. "I'm nervous enough as it is."

Sarah's voice crackled in his ear. "Tell her that her smile lights up the room. Chicks dig that."

"Why would you be nervous?" Chuck asked as he held out his arm. "Your smile lights up the room. That dress is amazing. It has the high slit that I requested to show off your incredible legs, it has the cleavage that Mrs. Carmichael requested to show off your incredible… um… body, and it matches your eyes perfectly. You're going to be the most beautiful woman there."

"The dress should be amazing," Casey grumbled under his breath. "Five thousand dollars? For a dress?"

Sarah shot him a dirty look and covered her mic with her hand. "Focus," she hissed softly.

"Thank you," Pussy replied gratefully as she took his offered arm. "The dress people were so nice. It's amazing that they can create something like this in only a few hours. I felt like a princess. At least Mrs. Carmichael won't be standing next to me to make me look plain. I'm really looking forward to this event. You don't know this, but I'm an art major."

Of course Chuck knew. Thanks to Dad, he knew virtually everything there was to know about Maryanne Rogers. He knew that she was from North Carolina, where her upper middle class parents still lived, and an only child. He knew about the art degree from Duke. He knew that she was taking some time off to see Europe, spoke reasonably fluent French, and that her father was pressuring her to go back home and join the family business. He knew that she had been working as a waitress for only a few weeks, more for the cultural experience than the money, and wouldn't stay long.

"Brilliant," Casey muttered, mostly under his breath. "Fifty thousand dollars to send your kid to Duke… and she comes back with an art degree. Huge job opportunities with that."

"Good," Chuck replied, ignoring Casey as they walked. "You can advise me on what to bid on. At these events, it's expected that you buy something… the poor Black Rhinos and all."

"We're still meeting Mrs. Carmichael later, aren't we?" Pussy asked expectantly. "She's so beautiful. I have to say, I'm looking forward to the rest of the night even more… dancing… and seeing where the wind takes us."

"Absolutely," Chuck replied. "Trust me. She's looking forward to it as much as you are."

"Good," Pussy sighed. "I wanted new experiences. This is certainly going to be new."

For once, Casey covered his mic with his hand before making his snarky comment. "You do realize what she's expecting for her 'new' experience, right?" he asked with a smirk. "It's more than just Mr. Carmichael that she's anticipating winding up in bed with tonight."

This time Sarah grinned as she covered her own mic. "I know," she said. "Casey, don't tell him. He's not used to this. He doesn't pick up on those kinds of signals. It would just make him nervous."

Sarah's grin faded away and she narrowed her eyes as she glared at the look on his face. "Get your mind out of the gutter," she advised firmly.

"It's not going to happen."

x-x-x-x-x

Ellie and Devon were waiting for them in the limo. Ellie had been dying to show off her sexy fiancé. Devon was probably as excited as Pussy was at the opportunity to play spy for a night. And he sure looked the part in his stunning white dinner jacket. Ellie wasn't nearly as enthusiastic about the pretend spy mission, but she wanted to make sure that Sarah had genuinely won her bet with Carina. Ellie was probably the one who was having the most fun teasing her. So, all things considered, this was a win-win.

"A heart surgeon," Pussy sighed. "Dr. Woodcomb, that sounds so exciting."

If Pussy was trying to hide the fact that she was smitten with Devon… well, she failed miserably. Fortunately, Ellie didn't have much in the way of jealousy. She was very used to women drooling in his direction. "Call him Devon," she said with a grin. "Call me Ellie. You can save the formality for if you're ever one of our patients. We'll call you… Pussy. Enough said?"

Fortunately, that broke the slight tension in the car and got everyone laughing.

"Tell her that Devon is an excellent dancer," Sarah said into his ear mischievously. "Tell her that he's excellent at lots of things and that she'll find out for herself later."

Sarah knew that the teasing she was getting from Ellie and Carina was in good fun… but she also knew that she had absorbed about enough of it. She covered her mic and grinned at Casey. "Let's see how 'not jealous' Ellie really is after I'm done with her tonight."

"Mess with the bull and you get the horns."

x-x-x-x-x

The private jet that Steven had acquired was right out of the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Pussy looked around the ridiculously luxurious cabin and held up her glass of champagne in salute. "I didn't realize that we'd be flying tonight."

"The event is in Zurich," Chuck explained. "That would be a six hour drive through the Alps. With the jet, it's only a few minutes."

Of course, Pussy had no idea who was flying the plane. In the cockpit, Casey turned to Sarah from the copilot seat. "You're sure that you know how to fly this thing?" he asked. "Okay, it's a few minutes to Zurich. But it's only a few seconds from a fiery death in the side of one of those mountains."

Before meeting Chuck, flying had been Sarah's favorite thing… even better than sex. Well, that was no longer true. Still, this jet was amazing. So she made no effort to keep the happy grin from her face. Once she had reached her cruising altitude she clicked the autopilot on. "Relax," she said soothingly. "I have the situation under control. Come over here and help me find the control to lower the landing gear."

Sarah laughed at the look of horror on Casey's face. "I'm teasing you," she said. "Keep your voice down so they don't overhear you. Chuck knows how much I love to fly. He's clearly angling to get me in a good mood and reap the benefits later… if you know what I mean."

"But didn't Orion pick out this plane?" Casey protested. "Why would he want to get you in a good mood? What benefits is he angling to reap? Is there something you're not telling me?"

Fortunately Sarah was in a very good mood. She joined Casey in laughing. "You're disgusting," she said. "If you want to worry about something, worry about being back in my doghouse if you mess up my good mood and Chuck is disappointed in any way."

"I think that you know how much fun that is."

x-x-x-x-x

 _I have 50. Do I hear 100?_

The first set of the action was almost over. It was as boring as Chuck had feared… for everyone really… except maybe for Pussy. She was still enthralled, eating up the atmosphere. Devon was also having a good time, but that was mostly because he was eating up the fancy hors d'oeuvres. Finally, Chuck couldn't stand just sitting there any longer.

Ellie noticed Chuck as he raised his paddle. "You're bidding on a painting?" she asked.

 _I have 100. Do I hear 150?_

Chuck grinned at his sister. "It's for the poor Black Rhinos," he said. He turned to his 'date.' "This is the one you liked, isn't it?"

Pussy made no effort to keep the look of awe from her face. "It's a very nice piece," she said. "The artist was relatively unknown, but that is quickly changing. It might be a very good investment someday."

 _I have 350. Do I hear 400?_

"This is getting a little pricey," Ellie warned cautiously. "Nothing else has gone over 100."

 _I have 450. Do I hear 500?_

"Relax," Chuck replied as he raised his paddle. "It's for a good cause. You heard her. It's going to be a good investment. Besides, what's five hundred dollars?"

 _I have 500. Do I hear 550?_

For a long time, all Chuck could hear was Casey laughing in his ear. "Being a genius and all," Casey was finally able to get out. "I'm sure that you realize that the bidding at these events is in thousands."

 _I have 500. Do I hear 550? Do I hear 550? 550? Going once, twice, sold to Mr. Carmichael for 500._

Ellie tried hard to keep from giggling at the stunned look on Chuck's face. Okay, so maybe she didn't try all that hard. Pussy was far too enthralled to pay much attention anyway. She had her arms around Chuck's neck and was jumping up and down in celebration. The room was filled with raucous applause at the huge, record amount.

"Congratulations, numb nuts," Casey said. "You just spent half a million dollars to impress your date. Good luck explaining that to your wife. I can see the look on her face from here."

"It's not pretty."

x-x-x-x-x

It was the first intermission… when the second batch of art to be actioned off was displayed for inspection. For a long while, Chuck was busy surrounded by art patrons and rhino lovers alike patting him on the back at his record purchase.

Pussy was just standing there with Ellie and Devon, watching the throng, when she felt someone grab her arm. "Mrs. Carmichael," she exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting to see you until later tonight."

"Call me Sarah, dear," Sarah corrected. "I wasn't expecting to be here. I'm afraid that we have a bit of a situation."

Ellie knew her expected line. "Oh no," she sighed. "Are we working tonight? Charles promised. This was supposed to be a fun night."

Finally Chuck was able to break free from the well-wishers and join them. Sarah knew, after listening to Casey's barbs, that her first job was to calm Chuck down a little after his screw up. The reality was that, in their current situation, half a million dollars wasn't much money. But to a guy who, two months ago, was working for minimum wage in a Buy More, it was a ridiculous amount. He'd be worried that she'd be pissed. Actually, under the circumstance, she thought it was funny. So she flashed her warmest smile at him. "I hear that you bought me a painting," she said. "Everyone is talking about it. Thank you for that. Is it nice?"

Chuck was grateful that Sarah was clearly letting him off the hook. "Pussy says that it's a good investment."

"Charles paid five hundred thousand dollars," Pussy added. "It's a record. Everyone is going nuts."

Sarah flashed her grin at Pussy. "That's my Charles," she cooed. "He enjoys driving people nuts." She turned to her husband. "You'll have to show this record painting to me. When we get home we'll find someplace to hang it. I'll have to think of a creative way to thank you. A 'half a million dollar' thank you is probably going to require another trip to the casino and a new negligee or two. But for right now, I'm afraid that we have a situation."

Sarah pulled a picture out of her clutch and handed it to him. "Orion has assigned a man to capture you."

"Orion?" Pussy asked in confusion.

"Charles has a nemesis," Sarah explained. "They've been at each other for years. His code name is Orion."

Chuck handed the picture of Casey to Pussy. "Wow," he teased. "Orion's really scraped the bottom of the barrel this time. Man, this guy is ugly."

It wasn't part of the script. Chuck had obviously had enough of Casey's snarky comments in his ear. Sarah couldn't keep the laugh in. "Ugly is an eye of the beholder thing," she agreed, deciding to join the sport. "But he's certainly not attractive."

"I hope that I don't have to fight him," Chuck said in faux horror. "Some of that ugly might rub off. Who needs that?"

"Very funny," Casey growled.

Pussy looked at her friends calmly laughing and decided this situation was probably under control. "This man who is after you," she said. "Does he have a steel hat that he throws at people?"

Sarah turned to Ellie as she giggled. "You and Devon secure the perimeter," she said. Ellie nodded, took Devon by the hand, and left. It was all part of the plan to get then out of the boring event early. Sarah watched them retreat for a beat before turning her attention back to Pussy and held her hands about a foot apart. "He doesn't have a steel hat, dear," she said, still giggling. "I'm afraid that you've watched too many movies. But he does have a big freaking gun. He just loves to shoot people."

"Don't worry about the gun," Chuck said. "The way I hear it, the people that he shoots don't actually die anyway. Worry about some of that ugly rubbing off."

That's when it happened.

Sarah had seen Chuck flash many times. But in this situation, the sense of dread made her blood run cold. She knew from experience that she had to wait until it was over to find out anything. So she made sure that Pussy didn't notice and waited. "Well?" she asked expectantly.

Chuck made sure to keep the smile on his face, but his look said everything. One thing was for sure, their planned staged mission for Pussy's benefit was now over.

"It looks like now we have a real problem."

x-x-x-x-x


	24. Double Date

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _As always, a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **Double Date**

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck could tell, by the look on her face, exactly what she was thinking. "Relax," he said, as soothingly as he could. "It's not Fulcrum."

Sarah was trained not to allow her face to show her emotions, but even she breathed a noticeable sigh of relief. One of the things they feared most about coming to such a public event was the risk of running into Fulcrum. Even through the risk was very small… it wasn't zero.

Steven was intercepting scores of reports coming in from around the world every day that the Fulcrum Intersects were rapidly starting to deteriorate. He estimated that around eighty percent were already either dead or disabled and close to death. But that still left more than enough running around the globe to cause some serious trouble. Roark was frantic, watching his dreams of world domination, which had been right at his fingertips, suddenly vanish right before his very eyes. But frantic people were always the most dangerous. And he still commanded a formidable force. If he got wind of where the family was, he would commit every possible resource to finding them… and they wouldn't be subtle or gentle. It's why Steven had decided to delay going to Russia until all of Roark's agents were dead. He'd be very likely to make looking for them there a priority.

Worse, Sarah, Casey, and Carina were all in the Intersect so any Fulcrum agent would instantly flash on them. Agent Walker was trained not to take chances. And even though she was dead and her memory quickly fading in the rear view mirror, Sarah Bartowski saw no good reason to begin taking chances now. Even though this was a pretend mission, her gun was fully loaded, there was an extra clip in her purse, and the trademark holster of knives was strapped firmly around her thigh.

There was some good news. Dad assured them that the Intersect was designed around the Bartowski brain. It worked in other people, but not nearly as well. That meant that Chuck was far more powerful than the Fulcrum Intersects. So if it came down to a one-on-one fight, Chuck would win easily. But if there were several to gang up on him… well, they would have a serious problem. "Okay," she sighed. "Who?"

"See the blonde haired guy standing over there?" Chuck asked. "His name is Sven Richard. He is the head of a group called…"

"Bête de Race," Sarah finished for him. "Really?"

Chuck flashed his calmest smile. "I love it when you speak French," he said.

For the moment, Pussy ignored him. "Thoroughbred?" she asked in a stunned whisper. The English name might not have sounded nearly as sexy, but it was far more famous. "The Neo-Nazi, White Supremacy terrorist group that blew up the mall in Berlin last week? What's he doing here?"

"That's actually an excellent question," Chuck answered maintaining his calm smile. "I like your thinking. You should look into becoming an agent. I don't know why he's here. Maybe we should go over and ask him. I think we can safely rule out concern over the Black Rhino, him being such a white supremacy fanatic and all."

"Hey," Pussy quipped. "Black Rhino's lives matter." Her grin became glowing. "I've been waiting all night to use that line."

"I agree," Chuck teased. "Somehow, I seriously doubt that Sven does."

Sarah watched their banter with mixed emotions. She really wasn't in a mood for humor. A few short weeks ago, Agent Walker would have been in the middle of a rant about taking missions seriously. But things had changed in her life. Snapping at them now wouldn't be productive. So she ignored their giggling. "He's planning something," she said. "What do you want to do? Is this event his target? We should probably get Pussy out of here and call it a night."

"Maybe," Chuck agreed. "But I doubt that this is his target. It seems more likely that he is doing a bit of fund raising with all of the rich people here. Sarah, this is a really bad guy. He blows up school kids. Be honest. That's not really what you want to do, is it? You signed up to save the world."

"Of course not," Sarah replied. "But now I'm Sarah Bartowski. Agent Walker is dead. Isn't that part of our lives over?"

"I get that," Chuck said softly. "But is that part of our lives ever going to be over? Doing the right thing isn't limited to CIA agents. Sarah, I'm not telling you what to do. I'm just saying that I'll always support you in doing the right thing. We both know that you're dying to take this moron down. So am I."

"Get him outside," Casey said into their ears. "I'll empty my clip into his head. One less asshole in the world."

"Shooting him in cold blood is out," Chuck sighed. "That's not our style. We can't allow ourselves to be identified here, so whatever we do has to be covert. Maybe we could secure him someplace and turn him over to the authorities. The best case would be if we could get him to lead us to the rest of his evil gang and take them all down. That's probably too much to expect with what we have to work with."

"With what we have to work with," Sarah mused. "Charles, think about this. I only know one way to get him out of here alone covertly. You know how that works. You and I are finally in such a good place. I don't want to do anything that could hurt us. I won't risk that."

"Agreed," Chuck replied softly. "But here's the thing. We're at the place where there isn't anything that could possibly hurt us, is there? If you're worried about me being jealous, don't be. I'm actually past that. Do what you have to do. I'll be proud of you. Here is my one husband demand. This guy is dangerous. I need to always be in a position for my Intersect to protect you. You're never to be out of my sight. If that becomes impossible, we abort."

"I really don't want to do this in front of you," Sarah protested. "I'm very proud that you're not jealous. I do believe you. But still, I don't want to rub your face in it. I'm wearing a wire. You can track me. Besides, I can handle myself. This is not my first rodeo. If I leave with him, Casey is standing by to help me capture him. Carina can be here inside of an hour to back us up. You can stay with Pussy and gather Ellie and Devon. We'll meet back at the jet."

Chuck shook his head firmly. "Not happening," he replied. "I'm putting my foot down. Things don't always go as planned. You know that. This isn't jealousy. Don't worry about me seeing something. Do whatever you have to do. Agent Walker was a lone wolf. She's dead. No offense, but I don't really miss her that much. We're a team now. Together, you and I can face anything."

Sarah's eyes were shinning as she nodded gratefully. "Okay," she said. "Agreed. I don't miss her either. But I need him to be interested enough to agree to leave with me. How does that work with you being there? We have to get Pussy out of here."

"What are you going to do?" Pussy asked.

Chuck made sure to flash her his calmest smile. "Sarah is going to do what she's been trained to do," he said. "She's going to get close to him, make sure that he turns off his brain staring down her dress, and get him alone thinking that he is about to get very lucky so that we can secure him."

"Okay," Pussy said. "I can see how that could be effective. But isn't Sarah's right? How does that work with her husband standing there? It's too awkward. I'll go with you as Charles' date. That leaves Sarah free to make her move."

"Maryanne," Sarah said firmly with an emphasis on her real name. "Let's put some cards on the table. Tonight was all planned. The man whose picture you saw is a friend of ours. We had set up a pretend mission to give you an exciting night. I'm afraid that's no longer going to be possible. You're a nice person. I like you. So if you want to be Pussy Galore for real, there is something that you should think about. The movies didn't treat the Bond girls very well. This is not a movie. It's as real as it gets. This man is a cold-blooded mass killer. He didn't survive this long by being stupid… or nice. He isn't here for a social outing or because he wants to buy some art. It's very possible that this event is his next target. He probably has other people in the area. If this goes south, it could get very messy, very quickly. Getting killed isn't the worst thing that could happen. They could make your last hour of life so hellish that finally killing you would be doing you a favor. You have a comfortable career planned running your family business with your dad back in North Carolina. You'll meet some nice man, settle down, and raise a family. Tell me why you'd want to risk all of that."

If Pussy was surprised what Sarah knew about her, she didn't show it. She didn't back down an inch. In fact, she turned to face Sarah directly. "This guy is evil," she replied firmly. "They planned the attack at the mall when they knew there would be a middle school field trip there. You're probably right about how my life back home is going to turn out. But how can I live that life knowing what I now know? How can I read the next report of some school kids being blown up, knowing that I could have done something about it, and didn't? Sarah, could you live with that? Please don't do that to me."

Sarah shook her head. "You're a distraction," she said. "You don't know what you're doing. Charles and I are going to have to worry about protecting you."

"I'm not going to be fighting anyone," Pussy insisted. "I'm just going to stand there as Charles' date. Sarah… please."

Sarah looked critically at her for a long, long moment. "If I agree to this," she finally said. "You have to understand something about being an agent. Modesty isn't allowed. It's very possible that you have to pretend to keep Charles occupied so that I'm free to run my op."

Pussy smiled. "Do you think that men haven't looked down my dress before?" she asked. "Thanks to you, my current dress provides him more than ample opportunity. I'm more than a little disappointed that he hasn't looked down here already. I guess that I'm not in your league…"

"Don't tell her that you're not in her league," Chuck interrupted, still with his grin at full power. "Whenever I tell her that… well, it doesn't go well."

"Duly noted," Pussy replied. "Something tells me that being on Sarah's bad side is… bad. Who would want that?"

"Very funny," Sarah snapped, at both of them really. "This is serious. It might require more than just looking."

"I get that," Pussy said. "Here's a news flash, Sarah. I came into tonight hoping to keep Charles occupied… and with much, much more than just looking. I've been fantasizing about the possibilities since the first second I met him. That's not like me. In fact, I don't think I've ever felt like this before. You promised me that he would make me forget my own name. I'm not sure why you would want to share him, but it's something I'm definitely going to hold you to. So, rest assured, I won't be pretending. I wasn't expecting to be wearing this dress very much longer anyway. If he had asked me to join the mile high club in the jet on the way here, he wouldn't have had to ask twice. So the pregame show starts a few hours earlier than the kickoff? Works for me."

Sarah could only grin and shake her head at the ridiculousness of the situation. A week ago, that speech would have earned Pussy a minimum of a severe ass kicking. But how could she blame this poor girl? All of this had been her idea in the first place. What did she expect? What woman alive would be able to resist that charming man standing there in that ridiculously hot tuxedo? At least she was being honest about what she expected.

But the real final nail in her jealousy coffin was Chuck himself. He might reluctantly play a role for a while. But he was just as protective of what they had as she was. Most men would have taken advantage of the implied permission of this situation to cop a quick feel, or even more, from a beautiful woman who was overtly throwing herself at him. Not Chuck. It just wasn't in him. In fact, she could see the wheels spinning in his head trying to figure a way out of this. If anything, he would need a stern lecture to properly sell it. He was right. They were at that place where few couples ever got to… nothing could touch them. When you had that going for you, what else mattered? Even in this tense situation, the warm glow felt… amazing. And actually, Pussy thinking she was going to get lucky multiple times tonight was a good thing for the role they were asking her to play. Sarah turned to her husband and resisted the urge to throw her arms around him. "You have to sell your end of this," she warned.

"Understood," Chuck relied calmly with a grin. "Actually, in Goldfinger, Pussy Galore was a lesbian. This assignment might have you selling more ends than you're thinking." He turned to Pussy. "How into the role are you going to be?" he asked with a wink.

"It would be a first for me," Pussy teased as she joined him in laughing. "But if that's what the assignment requires… She might have to show me what to do."

Sarah shook her head at their overt teasing. "Very funny," she groaned. "If I can get him to leave with me, at least we'll be able to rule out this event being the target."

"Don't worry about me," Chuck said. "Make this guy turn off his brain. It'll be fun to watch this happen for once without worrying about where it's going to go. Impress me with your seduction skills. This may sound odd, but I'm kinda looking forward to it."

Sarah grinned and nodded. "It kinda does sound odd," she teased. "Let's understand each other. I'm going to find a way to make you pay for the incessant teasing sometime tonight." As she turned to go, she felt him gently grab her arm.

"It feels great not to have to be jealous, doesn't it?" Chuck said. "You're amazing. Thank you."

Great didn't begin to describe it. "Don't thank me," Sarah replied. "I'm not close to amazing. Together, we're amazing."

"It feels just as great for me."

x-x-x-x-x

"It's a very nice piece."

Sven looked up from the painting he was pretending to examine. "Very nice," he agreed.

Chuck stuck out his hand. "Charles Carmichael," he said.

Sven took the offered hand. "Sven," he said. "Mr. Carmichael, you're apparently quite famous. Congratulations on your record. Half a million? That's pretty impressive."

Chuck smiled. "It's for a good cause," he replied. "Allow me to introduce you to my wife. This is Maryanne."

"Mrs. Carmichael," Sven said as he extended his hand.

"Call me Pussy," she said with a sly grin. "I'm Pussy Galore for the evening. Don't ask. This is what happens when you lose a bet on your honeymoon."

"That's right," Chuck said. "She's my Pussy for the entire night. And this is my sister, Sarah."

"Charles," Sarah sighed. "Do you have to tell everyone that you brought your sister on your honeymoon?" She turned to Sven with a pout. "I feel like such a loser."

"There, there," Chuck said soothingly. "There was no way we were going to leave you home all alone after getting dumped by that cheating bastard you called your fiancé."

"Could you say that a little louder?" Sarah asked sarcastically. "I'm not sure everyone heard you." She turned to Sven. "I really am a loser," she said.

"Don't say that," Sven answered in mock horror. "Such a beautiful woman could never be a loser."

No matter how many times Chuck watched it happen, it still amazed him how Sarah could instantly transform herself from a brilliant, sophisticated woman, into a tipsy sexpot… and get men to shut off their brains. This guy wasn't stupid. They hadn't said ten words to each other and just her smile already had him mesmerized. Of course, the fact that she was standing so that he had an excellent view of the cleavage down the front of her dress probably didn't hurt. Chuck could already feel the dislike building at the wanton thoughts that were plainly running through this slime ball's head. The good news was that this was the first time he could watch it happen objectively. He knew that Sarah hated this guy more than he did. He would be in custody soon. Even better, he would almost assuredly have a sore chin courtesy of Sarah's patented left foot. So he turned to his 'newlywed wife.' "Do you like this?" he asked. "Not that it matters. I think I've already blown my art budget for this month."

"Very much so," Pussy answered. "It's a great example of abstract impressionism."

"It just looks like a blob of shapes," Sarah moaned. "Charles, isn't this almost over? I'm so bored. Can we go get a glass of champagne or something?"

Chuck smiled, watching her stumble a little and pretend to grab Sven's arm to keep her balance… just enough to crush her chest against his arm and give him an extra-special look. She was playing the tipsy, ditzy, vulnerable on the rebound, Jenny role to perfection. "Haven't you had enough to drink?" Chuck asked.

Sarah tuned to Sven. "Big brothers," she said disgustedly. "Why are they always so over protective? I'm a big girl. Would you like to go with me to the bar and get a glass of champagne? We can leave these disgusting lovebirds here to admire the blobs of shapes."

There was only one possible answer to that question. Pussy could just stare in wonder as Sarah looped her arm through this terrorist's and they strolled together to the bar like they had been a couple for years. "Wow," she said. "She is good. That poor bastard doesn't have a clue."

Chuck smiled at his 'wife' for the moment. "It's an odd thing to brag about," he admitted. "But she's the very best. Now all we have to do is to wait until she gets him to leave with her. And the funny thing is that he'll think that it was his idea."

Pussy leaned in close. "So," she said. "Speaking about ideas, I have one. I've been standing here for the last ten minutes, intentionally leaning forward to give you the perfect view down my dress. In these heels it's honestly not very comfortable. I'm about to fall on my face and my back is even starting to hurt a little. I can't believe you haven't noticed. So I'm just going to ask. What do I have to do to get you to look at my chest?"

Chuck grinned at her. "Of all the right-up-front people I've ever met," he teased. "You're the right up front-est."

"Not really," Pussy protested. "I'm not usually like this at all. Not to appear boastful or anything, but I usually don't have to beg men to leer at my chest. They always get around to it all on their own. I wasn't kidding earlier. I came here tonight for a dangerous adventure… for new experiences… to leave my inhibitions at home for one wild night. I made up my mind that I was going to put my brain on auto-pilot and go along with anything you wanted, no matter what. So be honest. Don't you find me attractive?"

Now it was Chuck's turn to grin and shake his head at the ridiculousness of the situation. "That's not it," he scoffed. "Come on, Pussy. You can't seriously question that. Surely you've been hit on enough in your life to understand that you're drop dead gorgeous."

Pussy returned his grin. "You're giving me self-esteem issues," she charged. "Admittedly I'm not an expert at throwing myself at men. Maybe I'm not doing it right."

"Trust me," Chuck replied. "You're throwing yourself at me just fine. A year ago, I'd have been all over this… and you. The thing is, we're very happily married. She has my dance card very, very full. I understand that we were flirting with you the other night and probably gave you the impression we were after something. I'm very sorry about that. I do want you to have a fun time tonight. Sarah is honestly looking forward to going dancing. She is a maniac on the dance floor. If you want, later I'll even help you find someone to get wild with and throw yourself at. It shouldn't be hard at all… but it can't be me… or Sarah."

Pussy's grin took on a knowing quality. "I didn't think so," she said. "I'm actually not quite as stupid as I might appear at first blush. It's pretty obvious that you have something special. You haven't taken your eyes off her since the second she showed up. She looks at you like the lovesick cheerleader looks at the star quarterback. It's sweet."

"So," Chuck said as he started laughing. "You've been playing me? Touché. Very well done."

Pussy joined Chuck in laughing. "Maybe a little," she admitted. "It seems fair. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a tease. I just needed to know where things stand. If things were different, I'd be very eager to fully participate. But it's not going to happen… and I'm fine with that."

Pussy was right about one thing. Chuck hadn't taken his eyes off Sarah for a second. He stood and watched her laughing as she stood by the bar in the middle of a growing gaggle of men. She was obviously the life of whatever impromptu party was going on. And why not? She was glowing. In fact, she had never looked more beautiful. She was playing her ditzy Jenny role to perfection.

Suddenly, Casey's voice in his ear shook him out of his trance. "You'd better get over there, moron," he said with his typical Casey's tact. "He's making his move."

"She's been invited to a party."

x-x-x-x-x


	25. Ditzy Jenny's Party

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _As always, a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **Ditzy Jenny's Party**

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah still had her arm looped through Sven's while she sipped on her glass of champagne. Chuck could see the spark in her eyes well before she was within speaking distance. "Charles," she said. "We've been invited to a party."

Naturally, it was left to Casey to correct the record… in Casey's special way. "Actually," he said. "She was invited to a party. I think your invitation is what we call… um… an unenthusiastic concession."

Sarah, or more appropriately Jenny, grabbed his arm with her free hand. "Can we please go?" she asked. "I'm so bored here. Sven offered to give us a tour of his chalet in the Alps. It must be really special."

"Actually," Casey again corrected. "That's also not exactly true. He offered to give 'her' a private tour of his bedroom. This guy is about as subtle as the bombs he uses to kill innocent schoolkids."

Chuck hesitated. What was she telling him with her eyes? There was more here than it looked like. So he stalled. "I don't know," he answered hesitantly. "You promised that you would take Pussy dancing later. It's all she's been talking about."

"I know," Sarah pouted. "Can we please go dancing another night? I'm looking forward to it too. Please? Sven promises that it will be wild. I know we have a deal. But this opportunity just came up. Trust me. With everything that's happened to me lately, this is exactly what I need right now."

Chuck pondered the hidden meaning in her words. Their deal was that she would never be out of his sight. She was asking for permission to violate that deal. Chuck knew that putting it in terms of trust was her way of telling him that this was important. She must have a good reason. Casey finally answered his unasked question. "It's going to be very wild," he said. "It sounds like a private fund raising thing. Get the rich money-men drunk and laid. Undoubtedly, other faction members will be there, probably all of them. It would be a great opportunity to bust the entire gang, and all of their funding."

Chuck sighed. Why did he allow doubting her to even cross his mind? Of course, she had a very good reason. Bête de Race was a truly evil organization. Turning them over to the authorities would be great news for the world. But to misquote the New Testament, it was the money that was the root of this particular evil. You didn't plant explosives in a public place, armed with sophisticated electronics, timed to explode in a sequence that was specifically designed to catch the innocents trying to escape the initial explosion, without some serious funding. Identifying where that funding was coming from would be a major victory in the war against terror. So he turned to Pussy. "Is this okay with you?"

Pussy watched their conversation with interest. Of course, she didn't have an earpiece, which meant that she couldn't hear Casey's banter. On balance, that was probably a good thing, but it also meant that she wasn't aware of the subtext. She was sure that there was some hidden meaning in their words. She just wasn't sure what he wanted her to say. Was he asking her for an out? Going to a wild party thrown by a notorious terrorist wasn't high on her wish list. Then again, wild is what she had wanted from tonight. She just wasn't sure that, what promised to be a drunken orgy… starring various members of Bête de Race… was exactly what she had in mind. Still, just a few minutes ago, she had pleaded with Sarah for this very role. All of her reasons were still valid. Most importantly, for some reason she couldn't explain, she trusted this couple that she had just met with her very life. So she played it down the middle and just nodded. "Whatever you want to do, dear," she answered. "I was looking forward to dancing tonight."

Sarah was looking at Pussy, but her words were clearly meant for Chuck. "Thank you, sweetie," she said.

"I will most definitely make this up to you."

x-x-x-x-x

There was one thing that Carina was quickly discovering about her new boyfriend. Well, actually, there were several things. First and foremost, he was a true genius. Of course, that wasn't really much of a discovery. Everybody knew that. Spies were hard to impress, but he was a legend. The surprise was that the legend didn't come close to how brilliant he really was. It seemed every single day she found herself bowled over at seeing him account for some detail that nobody else would consider… how far ahead he could see things unfold and plan contingencies. Today's example, he had found out about the contact with Bête de Race twenty minutes ago and they were already on a private jet, screaming towards Zurich, to join the team. Luckily they were already dressed for the part, anticipating the dancing that Sarah had promised.

Second, she was getting more comfortable thinking of him as her boyfriend. That one was surprising, scary even. In fairness, that particular discovery was probably more about herself than about him. It was a huge step, most definitely a first for her. Before now, the term itself sounded lame, something that high school girls would use, something she teased Sarah about, referring to her 'relationship' with Bryce derisively, just before putting her index finger down her own throat. Then there was the really scary part. The term implied a future. When Carina thought about the future, she always thought in terms of tomorrow, maybe next week, certainly not next year and beyond. Admitting that Steven was a boyfriend forced her to rethink that. Then again, nothing else seemed to fit.

And that quickly led to the third thing. He was freaking hot, much sexier than one would think. He hid his hotness under those stupid plain flannel shirts. That was most definitely going to change. But standing there in that tux… wow. He worried about their age difference. He probably always would. What he didn't realize was that, if anything, the fact that he was older made him even sexier. Maybe the CIA Psyche guys were finally right for once and she did have a father fixation.

The final discovery was probably the best. Steven Bartowski turned out to be a surprisingly good kisser when properly motivated. Of course, they had kissed before… but nothing like this. They had most definitely crossed that invisible, but very real, line that separated kissing from serious necking. They were quickly headed towards the similar line that separated necking from foreplay. It was, figuratively anyway, steaming up the small cabin.

But there were also some warning signs included in all of this knowledge, even if she was currently too aroused to pay much attention. And, like most things in her life, they all centered around sex.

As a teen, Carina had discovered that she could get boys to do almost anything for just the hint of getting sex. What started off as an experiment quickly grew into an amazing power trip. The feeling of control was addictive. She started making it a game, to see how far she could push them. And even though she often could have gotten out of paying off, she most always did. Even though the boys were always too excited to last long enough to be adequate lovers, she could usually find a way to enjoy it at some level. Stealing a car in exchange for a quickie in the back seat became her standard deal. The boys seemed happy with the arrangement and it certainly was lucrative… until she finally got caught. It turned out that the authorities weren't too fond of her felony car theft ring. She was lucky not to get charged as an adult and sent to prison, but even so, she quickly found herself in juvenile detention… and from there into spy training.

But her life really began at the CIA Academy, where she discovered a wonderful truth. Her previous casual attitude towards sex that had labeled her a slut, or even a whore, was not only encouraged, it quickly had her at the top of her class. In the DEA, she was an instant success. It turned out that getting scummy drug dealers to spill their secrets wasn't all that much different from getting boys to steal cars. Of course, the scummy drug dealers always demanded that she pay off… and it was never a quickie in the back seat. In fact, the extra 'services' they often demanded made enjoying it a challenge. The up side was that sometimes she got to use her newly developed fighting skills to make a scummy drug dealer pay dearly for his inadequacies in the sack. All in all, it was worth it.

Spies really didn't have a social life, so sex quickly devolved into just part of her job. Of course, that wasn't to say that she didn't enjoy her work whenever possible. She certainly tried. But it was definitely driven by her job. There were no emotions involved. That's how it started out with Steven. She was going to use her finely honed skills to provide her hero a much needed service. It was her way of contributing to her new team. Hopefully, she would find a way to enjoy it more than the scummy drug dealers. But that was secondary.

That's when something happened that Carina Miller never, ever expected. She quickly discovered that she honestly enjoyed his company, started looking for excuses to spend time with him. She found that she missed him when he wasn't in the same room. He was a truly nice guy, and he could always make her laugh. Not only that, she found herself getting massively aroused whenever she was with him. It was a new and wonderful feeling. In fact, for some time now, she was looking forward to the sex more than he was.

That honestly scared the crap out of her. Being uncontrollably aroused was the weapon she had used against men all of her life. Having the tables turned took the control that she was so used to wielding as she saw fit, and handed it to him on a silver platter. And thanks to her stupid injury, they hadn't even had sex yet. Of course, Carina Miller was experienced enough to know that there were ways to provide him a service that would be almost as good as sex and relatively pain free. She offered it several times, even pleaded with him to accept her offer. But he turned her down flat. He didn't want that. He insisted that they would wait together until her ribs had healed to the point of doing their first time justice. It was sweet. In its own way, it was even romantic. But it also had the side effect of fanning the fire in her loins to a white hot level. The kicker was that the healing was going frustratingly slowly. Even as aroused as Carina was, she could feel the growing burning in her ribs which meant that any legitimate sex wasn't going to be possible today. This session really couldn't go much farther without causing some serious frustration.

Worse, Steven was either afraid of hurting her, or being way, way, way too much of a gentleman to even go to second base. In Carina's state of mind, that wasn't going to fly, no pun intended. If he wouldn't go to second base on his own, she'd bring second base to him. She knew that, given the circumstance, her standard seduction move of standing in front of him and slowly unzipping her dress, allowing it to slide slowly to the floor, leaving her wearing only the sheerest of panties and matching red stockings, wasn't the smartest thing to do. If she had been thinking clearly, she would have realized that it even bordered on cruel… for both of them. But she wasn't thinking clearly. She was far too aroused to allow for rational thought. To Steven's credit, he did get the hint and cautiously started participating more fully. But that just made things worse.

Something simply had to change… quickly.

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck led Pussy to the limo, where Casey was waiting. He watched intently as Sven led Sarah to his own limo until the door closed and the tinted windows made her invisible. "Make sure that you don't lose them," he instructed. "What's our status?"

"Relax," Casey replied as he pulled out of the parking lot. "How are they going to lose us? There's really only one road through these mountains. That limo couldn't go fast enough to lose anyone anyway. Besides, she's wearing a wire. We could track her from outer space. Steven and Carina just touched down. Devon and Ellie are picking them up."

Pussy grabbed Chuck's hand. "Are you okay?" she asked. "I know you're worried. She's worried about you too. In the ladies room, she told me to tell you she's sorry. She really had to go with him or it would have looked weird. I know that he's a dangerous guy. But I think she's probably safe for now."

It was Casey who started laughing. "Don't worry about her," he said. "She is a total badass. She could take this moron, and two of his buddies, with both hands cuffed behind her back. And actually, based upon the disgusting banter I've been listening too, she might get a chance to prove that yet tonight. Speaking of which, what do you think the odds are that her dress is still on?"

Chuck shook himself out of his thoughts, ignored Casey's jab, and responded to Pussy's concerned look with a smile. "He's right," he said. "Don't worry about Sarah, at least not until later. Trying to fight her would be the biggest mistake of this jerk's life. The threat is medium term. I seriously doubt that this terrorist is going to allow some stranger, who he just picked up at a party, to find out the location of his hideout and simply let her leave, at least not alive… not with twenty men to back him up."

To Pussy's credit, her face didn't show any fear. "Okay, but doesn't that same logic apply to us?" she asked calmly.

"And that's exactly why you shouldn't be here," Casey replied. "If this goes south, it won't be pretty. There are some things that you leave to the professionals."

Again, to her credit, Pussy didn't back down an inch. "I've already been through this with Sarah," she said. "She very clearly articulated the risks. I accepted them with my eyes open. So I am here. Deal with it." She turned to Chuck. "What are we going to do? We have to save her."

To tell the truth, Chuck was very impressed. "Relax," he said calmly. "This isn't as bad as it seems. But I'm afraid that Casey's partially right. We're not going to do anything. Once we've identified the location, our team is going to inform the authorities. We need to be long gone before they get here. You can wait here in the car with Casey and I'll go in and get her."

Pussy did a clear double take. "There will be lots of men in there," she protested. "You just said twenty. If they don't want her to leave, how's that going to work? You're going in all alone?"

Chuck smiled at her skepticism. "I work better alone," he explained. "Not to brag, but I'm also a badass. You'll be safe with Casey… bored maybe… a little nauseous perhaps… but safe. You've been looking all night for someone to look down your dress. You're in luck. That's his specialty."

That finally got the laugh he was waiting for. "Let me guess," Pussy teased. "He's a badass. I hope that he comes through with his specialty." She turned to Casey with a wink. "I'll make this as easy for you as I can. I'm starting to develop self-esteem issues."

"A big badass," Chuck assured. "Right, Casey?"

Casey looked at Pussy in the mirror with his own grin. "You mean that you haven't already been making it easy?" he teased. "Any easier and the dress will be lying on the floor. I'll leave that to your judgement. It would be a nice bonus. I'll still defend you with my life."

Chuck did a double take. Was he actually flirting with her? That would be a first. "Come on, Casey," he teased as he settled in for the ride.

"You can do a lot better than that."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah didn't have to guess what was coming. Sven raising the privacy panel as soon as they were in the limo told her everything that she needed to know about how he thought this ride was going to go. In fairness to this vile terrorist, she had spent the last hour hanging on his arm and giving him every signal that she was drunk and on the rebound, in other words, vulnerable and ripe to be exploited. It would almost be insulting if he didn't think that he was on the road, no pun intended, to getting very lucky.

The situation was all too familiar. Why wouldn't it be? Sven said that it was about a thirty minute drive to his place. She had spent thirty minutes with some scumbag to give Bryce time to search his room, only about a hundred times. It was the perfect amount of time, long enough to sell your willingness to get very intimate, but not quite enough for the mark to get around to actual sex. In these situations, losing some clothes was often strategic on Sarah's part to keep the mark on defense. Thanks to the CIA, strange men seeing her without clothes had, long ago, stopped being an issue. Her naked body was simply one of her weapons in the ongoing war with evil. Chuck knew all about it, in general terms anyway. It had never been a big deal to Sarah, simply an unpleasant part of her job, something she was always able to flip that switch in her head and forget about ten minutes after it happened… akin to a housekeeper scrubbing out the toilet.

So why was tonight so different?

The easy answer was that she was married now, and had changed a lot in the last few weeks. That was certainly true… but it wasn't the entire reason and she knew it. That didn't explain promising a wild threesome to Mike Simpson in vivid detail and overtly allowing him to look down her ridiculously skimpy dress to sell it… or flirting with a barroom full of horny bikers… or allowing Yuri to search for weapons inside of her bra for ten minutes… or even kissing Bryce and encouraging him to put his hand in her shirt. She was married for all of those times too.

It wasn't that she was worried about Chuck… not really. Chuck was fine with this. Hearing about her getting mostly naked with another man, to keep him occupied, wouldn't be his first choice. He knew exactly what she was doing and why. And there was one overwhelming truth at play here. A few minutes' worth of disgusting necking while mostly naked to take down Bête de Race, saving untold innocent lives, was well worth it. That wasn't really a question. Chuck thought so too.

Casey had been teasing… but he was also right. This guy was about as subtle as the bombs that he used. He proved that when he put his hand under her breast 'helping' her into the car. He must have thought it was a handle or something. In fairness, it was apparently a common mistake. So now he was moving in to kiss her. The rest of his move was predictable. It always happened the same way. After a minute of kissing, she'd feel the zipper on her dress being lowered, followed quickly by it being pulled off her shoulders. Most of the times, the mark would stop there and claim her panties later, when he had the time and space to do it right.

Of all that, it was the kissing part that was the worst. While he was slobbering on your chest, you could close your eyes and think of something else… like how wonderful a hot shower would feel… or how nice your knife would look protruding from his throat. But when you were kissing, you had to sell that you were participating. Sarah racked her brain trying to think of a way out of this. Naturally, she could kill this sicko with a single surprise punch to the throat. But then what? They had to find out where his base was. Surprise was their main asset. The limo driver was almost surely a trusted member of the gang.

"I'm feeling really dizzy," Sarah said just before his lips found hers. "I think that I had too much champagne. Maybe I should lie down for a few minutes so I'll be ready to party when we get there."

Trying to stall these perverts, especially when they thought that they were owed something, hardly ever worked. And she could see the growing frustration in his eyes. So she went for broke and sweetened the pot. "You promised me a tour of your bedroom," she pouted. "I'm holding you to that. I just need a few minutes and I'll be good as new. Give me a chance to rest and I'll make it a tour you'll never forget."

Jackpot. Sarah wasn't about to give him time to change his mind, so she moved to the very back and plopped down. As she pretended to doze, she could hear Sven instruct the driver to step on the gas. Hopefully, Casey was listening and smart enough to give Chuck the good news.

If not, well, there was plenty of room in her doghouse.

x-x-x-x-x

"You're fired."

Ellie looked at her best friend as she entered the car, followed closely by her dad. She was most definitely serious, in fact looked to be breathing fire. It actually struck her as funny. "Why am I fired?" she asked. "Fired from what?"

"You're supposed to be my friend," Carina ranted. "You're also supposed to be my doctor. It's been weeks. There has to be a way out of this." She turned to face Devon, who had just nodded to the driver to get underway. "You're up," she said. "Okay, Doctor #2, show me what you've got."

Devon knew that laughing at this pissed off, deadly superspy probably wasn't the smartest thing… and he was right. He just couldn't help it. "It would help if I understood the problem," he said.

Ellie ignored her fiancé for a moment. "Sweetie," she placated. "Rib injuries are the worst. You have to be patient. You're healing nicely. But I'm afraid that it's going to be a few more weeks before it completely stops hurting."

"A few more weeks?" Carina moaned derisively. "There's no way that I'm going to make him wait for weeks. We have to figure this out today."

"Is this about me?" Steven asked. "You don't have to do this for me."

"I only need a couple of hours," Carina pleaded, ignoring Steven. "Can't we get creative? How about a cortisone shot?"

"A couple of hours?" Steven muttered, mostly to himself. "I'm thinking fifteen minutes… tops."

"Cortisone wouldn't help with this," Devon replied. "Have you considered a Fentanyl patch?"

"Fentanyl?" Carina asked sarcastically. "I was hoping to participate here. If I wanted to be drugged out of my mind, I could just tip back a dozen shots of tequila, strip, and tell him to go for it once I passed out. For now anyway, I'm keeping Plan B on the back burner."

"You do realize that I'm sitting right here?" Steven protested. He tapped Devon on the shoulder playfully. "You can hear me talking, right?"

"A patch is different," Ellie admitted. "Fentanyl is much stronger than the Vicodin you're taking. But it's absorbed through your skin gradually. So you won't feel as drugged."

"I get that this is uncomfortable for you given who we're talking about," Carina said. "But I have one question. Would it work?"

"I'm against this," Ellie protested. "There's a good reason why I haven't mentioned it before. Only partly because I'm uncomfortable with the man you've picked. Pain is your body's way of warning you to be careful. You're a DEA agent. I don't have to tell you that Fentanyl is a serious narcotic. It has known side effects. It's quickly physically addictive. It seems pretty drastic to use it just to get laid."

"Would it work?" Carina repeated, this time much more forcefully and drawing out the words.

Ellie paused for a long moment. "Yes," she finally admitted. "It would work. Everyone reacts to it a little differently. We would place it directly over your injury. It takes a few hours to take full effect. It might depress your sexual desire a little… but from where I'm standing it looks like your sexual desire could stand a little depressing."

Carina ignored her shot. "Now we're talking," she said, more to herself. "So how do I get my hands on one? You can't write a script here in Europe. That's not something I could get on the street very easily."

"I have a couple in my bag," Ellie sighed. "I packed some supplies when I found out we were leaving the states, just in case we got into trouble."

Carina already had her dress lowered to her waist to give Ellie access to apply the patch. If Devon was surprised, he didn't show it. Then again, he had already seen her topless… more than once.

"Great," Carina said. "Now if we can just solve Sarah's silly problem without any further injuries, we're home free. Congratulations."

"You're reinstated as my doctor."

x-x-x-x-x

"Where's Pussy?"

Chuck looked around the room. He counted twenty-two men and a few women. Based upon the number of tuxes, probably a couple of the men were potential donors and not much of a threat. But that still left close to twenty. For all of Sven's bragging, his 'chalet in the Alps' was a little short of spectacular. He had to fight back the laugh at the gloating look in Sarah's eyes. The promised wild tour of Sven's bedroom would have to wait… like forever. "She's not feeling well," he said. "She's sleeping in the limo. I'm afraid that we're going to have to cut our night short."

"Poor thing," Sarah sighed. She turned to Sven. "Maybe we can do this another time."

Naturally, there was no way that he was going to let them just leave. Sarah simply wanted to goad him into saying it. Sven turned to Chuck. "There's no reason you have to go," he said. "It's early. We'll give Mrs. Carmichael a quiet place to rest until she feels better."

Chuck decided to join her sport. He turned to Sarah. "What do you think?" he asked.

Chuck could tell that she was fighting to keep the grin from her face as she pretended to consider the offer. "I know Pussy," she finally said. "She'd be much more comfortable in the hotel." She turned back to Sven. "I'm sorry. We'll do this some other night."

Sven had no other option. He grabbed her arm rather roughly. "I tried to be nice," he said. "I really did. Now I'm afraid that I'm going to have to insist."

Chuck really didn't need a stimulus to flash. But if he did, seeing this guy grabbing Sarah's arm would have been plenty. When the flash ended, he was already surrounded by the gang.

Naturally, these scummy terrorists didn't know it yet, but twenty men vs. an Intersect wasn't much of a challenge. This coming battle was a mismatch. Sarah had seen the Intersect in action a few times now… but it never got old. Men were hitting the floor faster than she could keep track. Finally, the only one left standing was Sven. Chuck's grinning nod told her that this was his gift to her.

Sarah certainly didn't waste any time debating the point. The first kick landed deep into Sven's groin. That hobbled him over with pain and made him pretty much defenseless. "That was for almost touching my chest," she said. "For the record, I don't allow men to touch me without permission… especially cowards who blow up little kids."

Sarah's second kick was more athletic, especially given that she wearing a long dress. It was of the spinning variety and landed square in the side of his knee. The sickening crack said very plainly that Sven would be spending the next few months awaiting trial in a prison hospital bed followed by physical therapy to learn how to walk on his reconstructed knee. "That was for the kids in the mall," Sarah continued. "How big of a coward blows up little kids?"

The third kick was more traditional, her patented left foot to the side of his jaw. But it was delivered with every bit of power she could muster… which, with her adrenalin flowing, was a lot. The force of the blow lifted him off the floor and ended his night. "And that was for my amazing husband," she finished.

Sven didn't feel the final kick. He was already unconscious. He'd never see her again… except maybe in his nightmares. But he would always remember his encounter with the beautiful and surprising Jenny Carmichael. Every single breath he took for the next six weeks would remind him of her. His three broken ribs would make sure of that. "That one was for me," Sarah said, knowing that he couldn't hear her.

"Being nice is overrated."

x-x-x-x-x

Chuck and Sarah spent a few minutes zip-tying the hands of still conscious men and the women to ensure they couldn't escape. Sarah nodded to the unconscious heap on the floor. "He's going to feel that in the morning," she said.

"True dat." Chuck responded to her confused look. "Since I married Pussy," he explained. "I've gotten a lot more street."

And there it was… out of nowhere. They were in the middle of a very tense battle, yet he could still make her laugh. "Good to know," she giggled.

When they made it back to the car, they simply piled in. If they were surprised that Pussy was in the front seat with Casey, no one said anything. Sarah did notice, with some amusement, that she was quietly trying to zip her dress that was hanging loose on her shoulders. But it still wasn't time for anything but focus. They were in danger.

Casey already had the car on the road. "What's our status?" Sarah asked.

The authorities have been alerted and are on their way," Casey answered. "We have about ten minutes to clear the area before it's surrounded. Steven and the others are about two minutes ahead of us."

Sarah kept a sharp eye out for any sign of pursuit. She didn't fully relax until they were on the highway and well on their way to the airport. But finally, even she had to admit that this was over. The only danger was someone from an agency recognizing them. Lots of people had seen both her and Chuck's face. But Steven had already erased them from the surveillance tapes at the auction. Even if someone thought they recognized them, there was no way to make the connection. So she sided closer to Chuck. "It looks like someone has a reward coming," she purred. "I'm thinking that you've earned the right to spend the rest of the night with Ditzy Jenny."

Chuck grinned. "I could get her drunk," he teased. "Maybe trick her into some kind of sucker bet, get her naked, and have my way with her in any kinky way I could think of."

"Probably," Sarah agreed. "She's pretty easy to get naked. She loses kinky bets like that all the time. The girl never learns. But a bet is a bet. She always pays off with a smile."

"I hope that you don't take this the wrong way," Chuck replied as he leaned in to kiss her. "The thing is, I'd much rather spend the night with my beautiful wife… the amazing badass who is hard as nails, yet still manages to feel soft as an angel… the most brilliant person I know, can speak a thousand languages, and, when it's necessary, throw a knife into a fly's ass. Later tonight, when it's time, I won't have to trick her into getting naked. It will be her idea and she'll make the process as exciting as she possibly can. And the best part, I'll know that it's because she loves me just as much as I love her. I'll have the time of my life following her lead in bed in any way she can think of."

"I feel guilty," Sarah insisted. "Jenny is my way of making it up to you."

"Jenny may be popular with the men," Chuck said. "I get that offering her up to me to use is your way of dealing with guilt. But you have no reason to make anything up to me. Sarah, you don't completely believe this yet. I get that. I'm going to keep telling you anyway. Don't worry. We've come a long way already. We're getting there. Besides, we don't need Jenny. If I ever hinted that I wanted something from you, I'd get it before I even knew that I had asked for it. What could be better than that?"

What could Sarah possibly say to that? Suddenly, she figured out what was bothering her earlier. He would never want the wild night with Jenny like other men. Sarah, with all of her faults, was all he wanted. It felt… well, she didn't have the words. He was right. It was time that she started believing it. Her heart was beating out of her chest. What they had together was pure magic. It couldn't be harmed…so why worry about it? All she could do was press her lips to his.

Pussy took a glance at the couple necking hot and heavy in the back. She had just learned the hard way to not distract Casey during a mission. In that same spirit, taking off her dress while he was driving also didn't seem like the smartest thing to do. There would be a crowd in the jet, so her planned show would probably have to wait a while. She had plenty of time, the night was still young. "Wow," she sighed. "They're really going for it. He was so romantic. There isn't a woman alive who could listen to that and not want to jump between the sheets. I predict that a man in this car is going to get very lucky tonight."

That got Casey laughing. "You don't know them very well," he said. "That happens for him about four times a day."

Pussy's grin lit up the dark car.

"What makes you think that I was talking about him?"

x-x-x-x-x


	26. The Treaty of Paris

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _As always, a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **The Treaty of Paris**

x-x-x-x-x

The news reports about the surprise capture of Bête de Race were just starting to come in as they landed back in Monte Carlo. The only station they could get on the TV in the jet was in French, so Sarah and Pussy were the only ones who really understood what was being said. It really didn't matter. You could get the gist of what they were saying just by watching the reporter's faces. Pussy was clearly surprised. She wasn't completely sure yet that her new rich friends hadn't staged this show for her benefit. It had all seemed pretty easy. But the pictures on the television screen were impossible to deny.

The first thing that Sarah did, once they had landed, was to spend a few minutes fawning over Pussy. In fact, the entire family joined in. Even though her role was relatively minor, they were having a good time treating her like the hero.

Sarah wanted to make a point, so she pulled Pussy aside. "I'm very proud of you," she said. "I just want to let you know. Fighting evil usually doesn't go this well. The bad guys are… really bad. You always pay some price. Even when we're able to defeat them, they always manage to get a shot or two in. You honestly risked your life tonight. So please tell me that your spy career is over."

Pussy smiled. "I don't think that you have to worry about that," she replied. "I'm going home."

Sarah's face showed her surprise. "Okay," she said. "We talked about going dancing. I hoped that you'd want to celebrate with us for a while. But if you want, we'll take you home."

Pussy shook her head with a grin. "You're not cheating me out of a wild celebration," she assured. "I meant after this, I'm going home… back to North Carolina. Dad's been running things all by himself for too long. If there's one thing that today taught me it's that life's too short. Thank you for giving Cinderella her fancy ball. It's time to become Maryanne again. It's time that I started living my life… the one you talked about."

Sarah nodded in agreement. "Good for you," she smiled. "It's not quite midnight yet. I do hope that Pussy is ready to end her journey of discovery, and morph back into Maryanne with a bang. Our celebrations tend to get a little on the wild side. It has been said that I'm a different person on the dance floor. I trust that you like tequila."

Pussy was plainly on cloud nine. "I do like tequila," she quickly replied. "I don't drink it that often. Maryanne is more of a white wine person. I gotta tell you. I'm dying to ask you some questions. I hope that you don't think that this is too personal. If you tell me to 'mind my own business', I won't be offended."

Sarah grinned. Everyone always had the same question about her and Chuck. "What do you want to know?" she asked. "I'll tell you anything. You've earned it. Some of it is complicated."

"He's so incredibly hot," Pussy sighed. "Those sexy eyes… how do you keep your hands off him?"

That wasn't really what Sarah expected her to ask. Last week, another woman noticing how sexy her husband was would have sparked some serious jealously. It might have even started a fight. But she had to admit, Chuck had very sexy eyes. And they were at such a good place. Maybe it was time to let some of that possessiveness go and brag him up a little. It even seemed cute. "Actually, I don't," she boasted.

Pussy mimicked fanning herself with her hand. "Oh my God," she said. "You have to tell me what it's like. When was the last time?"

Sarah paused a little. Pussy wanted to hear details about her sex life with Chuck? That was a little odd. On the other hand, Sarah was dying to talk about how amazing it was with somebody. Her usual confidant, Carina, had been consumed lately with trying to punch her own dance card. Ellie would be horrified at any discussion that included her brother and sex. So, by process of elimination, Pussy was nominated.

Besides, she had just offered to tell her new friend anything. So… be careful what you wish for. "Last night," she responded. "It's unbelievable. He is so amazing in bed. It was our third time that day and every time got a little better. He's mostly a shy guy, but he takes firm control in bed. I was teasing in the bar about making you forget your own name. It's close to that. He can get you on the edge and keep you there until you're helpless. I'm trying to think of an excuse to get in a quickie sometime tonight while we're partying."

"I knew it," Pussy sighed. "Please tell me that you're willing to share him for a night. Maybe I could even join you. That would be a first for me. How much does Charles know about this? It's a little… unusual for one person to be that open while the other is monogamous."

"Huh?" Sarah paused for a moment to allow Pussy's words to sink in. It really didn't make anything clearer. "Huh?" she said again. "I was talking about Chuck." She paused for an even longer moment. "Who are you taking about?" she finally asked.

Pussy was surprised at Sarah's confusion. "Why Casey, of course," she said. "Three times in one day? You have to tell me, what exactly does he do that gets you on edge?"

Sarah did a major double take. Part of her was a little relieved that Pussy wasn't seriously asking her to share Chuck. There was also the suggestion of a threesome… talk about something that wasn't going to happen. But mostly… "You thought I was talking about Casey?" she asked in genuine horror. "Ewww. What makes you think that I've ever slept with Casey? Have you been talking to Ellie?"

Pussy quickly backpedaled. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I'm not trying to make you mad."

Sarah laughed. "I'm not mad at all," she assured. "I'm just a little surprised. Me and Casey? Ewww. It's not something that I even want to think about. I'm afraid that voyage of discovery is going to be totally up to you."

"I don't think he's interested," Pussy said sadly. "I was trying to channel you. I all but took my dress off in the car and all I got was a lecture about not distracting him."

That got Sarah laughing even harder. "You have to understand him," she was finally able to get out. "Casey is all about duty. We were on a dangerous mission. It doesn't mean that he isn't interested. All but take your dress off sometime tonight and I predict you'll get a completely different reaction. Just make sure that Chuck isn't watching… or me, for that matter."

Pussy got a lot more serious. "You're pretty jealous with him," she observed. "Tell me… why isn't he jealous with you? He didn't react at all when you were in the next car getting busy with that terrorist. Most men would freak out knowing that another man was screwing their wife."

Sarah sighed. Pussy was assuming the worst had happened in that limo. Was Chuck? Casey clearly hadn't told them that she had conned her way out of any physical activity with Sven. That was a conversation they would definitely be having sometime tonight. Denying it now would just make her sound defensive. But Sarah made it a point to find a time sometime tonight to explain to her new friend about seduction missions… and how actual sex rarely happened.

Why wasn't Chuck jealous? That was a new and wonderful development. It would take a month's explanation or none at all. "It's… complicated," she settled for saying.

"Do you worry that he's taking you for granted?"

x-x-x-x-x

It was as private of a party as they could make it. It wasn't exactly Chuck and Sarah's basement, but at least Pussy was able to pull some employee strings and get them a mostly private room. It was just off the dance floor, so that made the girls happy. It was also a short walk to the casino, so that made the guys, especially Devon, happy. Back home, they lived about a three hour drive from the biggest collection of casinos in the world. Yet Ellie would never let him go to Vegas. She still wasn't crazy about throwing their hard earned money into a slot machine. But Devon argued that they were now ridiculously rich. He also pointed out that Chuck had just spent half a million dollars on an abstract painting without suffering any bitching from Sarah. Guilt must have worked because, finally, even Ellie reluctantly admitted that spending a few thousand dollars gambling wouldn't be the end of the world, as long as he didn't make it a habit. Devon didn't stand around and wait for her to change her mind. She hadn't seen much of him since.

The guys split their time between the casino and the room, even Steven was participating. Naturally, it was hard to get the girls off the dance floor. Carina was feeling pretty good once the patch kicked in. She was taking it easy, obviously keeping her powder dry for later tonight. But Ellie, Sarah, and especially Pussy, more than made up for her.

Sarah knew that Chuck didn't like to dance much. With Devon and the guys having fun in the casino, she didn't want to press him. With Carina taking the night off, she found herself dancing mostly with Ellie. That was fine. They were usually laughing so hard at Pussy, that dancing became almost secondary anyway. Sure, with the guys rarely around, the male suitors had no reason to be shy. So they were constantly being hit on.

That quickly put Sarah in a bit of a spot. Pussy was dancing with anyone who asked. In fact, she was eating it up. Ellie was also not that hard to get on the floor. Maybe she was teaching Devon something of a lesson about gambling away their money. Nobody knew where Carina was. Sarah really didn't know what to do. In the past, Chuck had almost insisted that she dance with other men. It was his way of proving a point. He was telling her that he wasn't jealous. She certainly didn't want to do anything to change that. And honestly, dancing in public wasn't very intimate. The way Sarah bounced around the floor, the man she was 'dancing' with became a vague thing anyway. Still, she would have felt a lot more comfortable hearing him say that it was okay. Ellie was plainly making fun of her for being so uptight. There was also the fact that turning down the steady stream of men that approached her was becoming noticeable. She didn't want to act like a snob. So she finally gave in and danced with some of the guys.

Of course, that only served to turn the steady stream into a torrent. Sarah looked at the line that was, almost literally, forming.

"I wish Chuck was here."

x-x-x-x-x

Steven was actually in a pretty good mood. Casinos weren't quite his thing. But he was having fun bonding with the guys. Then it hit him. Maybe Carina would enjoy a little gambling. The problem was, when he went looking for her, nobody knew where she was. So he decided to check the room.

The sleeping arrangements for this trip had already been the subject of some serious discussion. It was well documented that Steven and Carina hadn't had sex yet. Till now, they hadn't even slept in the same bed. Everyone knew that it was inevitable. But until Carina was healed, sleeping in the same bed would just make her frustration even more unbearable. Yet, for the past few weeks, they had been spending virtually every waking minute together anyway. Separate rooms would be awkward. Finally they compromised and got a suite with two bedrooms.

When Steven turned on the light, he saw her sitting on the sofa. "Why are you sitting here in the dark?" he asked. "I thought that you wanted to party? Aren't you feeling well?"

Carina paused for a long moment. The truth was that the Fentanyl had just kicked in another notch. It was more powerful than she expected, and she felt a little odd. "I feel fine," she finally answered.

Steven took full note of the coldness in her voice, something that he had never witnessed before, and suddenly, inviting her to go gambling was put on semi-permanent hold. So he took the seat on the sofa next to her. "I'm out of practice on the relationship thing," he started softly. "And I was never good at it in the first place. But even I get that you're not happy with me. So we can play this game where you make me guess. But one of the things I love about us is that we don't play those games. I'm really hoping that you can just tell me, so we can talk about it."

Carina considered that for a moment. He had a point. She had nothing to lose by putting her cards on the table. "You were flirting with her," she finally replied sadly. "Do you think she's pretty?"

That was the very last thing Steven expected her to say. He even had to run tonight's events through his mind to figure out who 'her' even was… and then only by process of elimination. It couldn't have been Ellie. Surely Carina couldn't be thinking that he was flirting with Sarah. He also knew by the tone in her voice that he needed to tread very lightly here. Denying that Pussy was gorgeous would just sound fake and probably turn her sadness into anger. Something odd was going on here. "I honestly don't think that I was flirting with her," he said defensively. "I wasn't trying to. I'm sorry if you think so."

Carina threw the tissue she had been holding to the floor in disgust. "You danced with her," she said.

"And I resist dancing with you," Steven finished her statement. "I didn't want to. I'm really uncomfortable dancing. She really didn't give me a choice." That part was true. She just grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the dance floor. Steven paused for a moment. "I'll make more of an effort to dance with you if it means that much to you." It was a major concession. He paused for an even longer moment waiting for some sign that this was over. Finally, the tense silence forced him to admit that this was something deeper. "But that's not really what's going on here, is it?" he asked. "I honestly didn't think that we had to worry about things like jealousy with each other. I get that you're upset. It would help me a lot if you would take a deep breath and tell me the real reason so we can fix it."

Carina paused for what seemed like an eternity. "Don't you ever want to have sex with me?" she finally asked tearfully. "Do you even realize what I've been going through trying to make this happen for you? You don't even seem to want it. You've spent all night with your face in a fucking slot machine. How do we fix that? Am I wasting my time here? How long is it going to be before you move on? Most men…"

Finally the light went on. Part of Steven wanted to laugh at how silly she was being. He briefly considered correcting her. He had been playing blackjack with Chuck, not slots. But that would be the exact wrong thing to do. Even he knew that. "Most men would jump on you every chance that they got," he finished her statement. "They wouldn't care if you were in pain. Treating you as an object is what you've come to expect from men. Sex is what you think that you bring to the table. I get that."

Steven put his arm around her and pulled her close. "I need you to listen very closely to me," he continued. "I'm trying to use my words carefully because I know that you hate romance. And that's good because, frankly, I suck at it. But if you think that I don't want sex with you, well, you couldn't possibly be more tragically wrong. I'm simply not willing to jump on you. Has it ever occurred to you that it's exactly the opposite of what you said? That I want more than just sex? That I'm willing to wait until this thing that we're growing has a chance to take root and flourish without sex getting in the way? Don't you get that knowing that you're in discomfort would take all the joy out of sex for me? We have tons of obstacles. I'm far too old for you. We're very different people. I'm already oh-for with CIA agents. But here it is as plain as I can say it. I'm crazy about you. I have been since the minute I met you. And it has nothing to do with sex. I'm sorry that I don't seem to be providing what you need."

Carina melted into him for a long moment. "Wow," she finally said. "Nice save. It turns out that the tough girl thing was just a ruse. It appears that I'm pretty fucking needy, huh? I'm embarrassed."

"Don't be," Steven replied. "I probably shouldn't admit this, you being such a badass and all… but I kinda like it when you're needy. I like what it infers about us."

That broke the tension in the room and got them both laughing. "As it turns out, you're better at the romance thing than you think," Carina teased. "You just told me that you love me without making me hurl. Nice work."

"Thanks," was all Steven said.

Carina waited for a long moment for him to say something. Finally the growing silence was too much for her. "You're going to make me say it, aren't you?" she asked. "Do you really want this big, sappy, romantic scene? This is hard for me."

Steven wasn't about to let her off the hook. "Don't you want that big, sappy, romantic scene?" he asked. "Isn't that really why we're up here? I get that it's hard… but that's exactly why it's important. I don't want you to say anything that you don't mean. But I do want the truth."

Carina had just been gently called out… and she knew it. "You're not going to let me get away with anything," she moaned. "Okay, yes. I love you. I want more too. I'm feeling things that I never thought possible. Please stop worrying about the age thing. It couldn't possibly be less relevant. And yes, I even like the sappy romance. So I think you're no longer oh-for. Are you happy? Does that cover everything? Is my surrender complete? Can we please have sex now?"

That got them laughing again. "I'm not happy with you taking Fentanyl just to have sex," he said. "Before I agree, I really want the honest truth here. How are you feeling?"

Carina considered how to answer. The patch had done a great job, but… "It's still a little tender," she admitted. "But, please don't make me wait any longer. I really need this."

Steven wordlessly reached behind Carina for the zipper to her dress. "I see that you want to drive," she said with a grin as tugged slowly. "That's more than fine with me." Once it was unzipped, gravity did its thing and it slowly fell and was bunched at her waist. All Carina did was pull her arms free… and wait.

She didn't wait long. Steven stood and gently pulled her to her feet and helped her step out of the dress that was now pooled on the floor. "I see that you have been talking to Sarah," he teased.

"Hey," Carina responded, still holding his hand, and mimicking his teasing tone as she stood there and posed in only her blue stockings. "Chuck forbids Sarah from wearing panties. I figured it might be a 'like father, like son' sort of thing. Why risk it? Maybe we can go over your complete set of bedroom rules… um, later."

"I feel like I should do something romantic," Steven teased. "I'm so out of practice about these things. Do you want me to carry you to the bedroom?"

"That would be romantic," Carina admitted. "The romance aspect even sounds very tempting. But maybe you should save your strength. You're going to be needing every last bit of it."

"I have a long night planned."

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah had a feeling in her gut that this wasn't going to end well. She had seen that look in a guy's eyes far too many times. And it always led to the same destination.

She couldn't wait for this song to be over. But wouldn't you know it? Luck betrayed her. The music they were dancing to quickly morphed into one of the few, slow, romantic songs that were interspersed through the night. He really didn't give her a choice. He just grabbed her hand, pulled her close, and starting dancing. Short of making a serious scene, she really couldn't get away. So she just went limp, stayed as far away from him as she could, and prayed that the song would soon be over so that she could retreat back to the safety of her table.

It wasn't until she felt his hand that she realized the futility of that strategy. For a long moment, all she could see was red. "I'm not trying to embarrass you or make a big nasty scene," she said. "But clearly we have a misunderstanding. If your hand stays on my ass for one more second, that misunderstanding is going to grow into a serious problem."

Sarah didn't have much hope that this would be settled without some serious ass kicking. And she had a perfect opening to introduce her knee to his testicles. But she spent the moment kicking herself instead. She shouldn't have ever been in this situation. She should have paid more attention to her instincts. The problem was that men like this didn't understand. This was a game to them. They assumed that 'no' was just her first move in that game… that he could soon sweet talk her into 'yes.' Fortunately, he took an honest look at her and saw the anger in her eyes. There was one good thing about Sarah… when she was angry, her blue eyes turned into a warning sign in the form of lasers… the kind that could cut through steel. The man got the message and was gone like he had been shot out of a cannon… lucky for his pride… and his testicles. Sarah found herself alone on the dance floor.

It was only a few steps back to their private room. She was feeling pretty guilty. Here was yet another story she would have to tell her husband about having to peal some strange man's hand off her ass. Ironically, Chuck was sitting at the table alone, waiting for her. Sarah could feel the blush driving up her neck. She was sure that her face was as red as her dress. "How long have you been here?" she asked.

"A couple of minutes," Chuck replied. "I missed you."

And there it was… today's example of what made her new life so wonderful. Sarah was feeling pretty lousy. With just three words, he had turned her mood completely around and had her on cloud nine. The unfortunate incident on the dance floor was forgotten as she took the seat next to him. "I missed you too." It was true. Never mind that he had been gone less than an hour. "Did you win me any money?"

Chuck considered the question. One thing that Jill had taught him was the proper answer to that particular question. If you won, she'd figure out the least fun way possible to help you spend it. If you lost, you'd get a lecture about wasting money. He wasn't sure that logic applied to Sarah, but in this case it was true anyway. "I'm about even," he answered.

Sarah leaned over, put her head on his shoulder, and snuggled.

"Am I taking you for granted?"

Pure surprise caused Sarah to raise her head. In her current mood, the question struck her as funny. At first she was sure that he was teasing. But then she looked at his face and saw the genuine concern there, sadness even. So she kept the grin from her face. "Why would you think that?" she asked. "Chuck, I don't think that at all. We're in such a good place."

"We are," Chuck agreed. "But that doesn't mean that we don't still have to work at it. Pussy thinks that I'm taking you for granted because I don't get jealous. Sarah, I don't want to ever make you feel that I'm taking you for granted."

Sarah did allow her lips to finally curve into a soft smile. "She said the same thing to me," she admitted. "I wouldn't worry too much about Pussy. She doesn't understand us. In her defense, we aren't the typical couple. She doesn't know what to make of us. The fact is, I'm proud of you. I don't tell you that enough. There was a time when you were very jealous… now you're not. You trust me. You know that I would never betray you. I like it a lot better this way. It makes things so much easier. Thank you for that. It's something that I need to learn from you."

Chuck joined her smile. "Can I tell you something without you judging me?" he asked.

Sarah's smile turned into a grin. She didn't answer, she just nodded.

"There was a time when another man simply looking at you would have driven me crazy," he said. "It happened almost every single time we went on a mission. Those guys were getting something that I wanted. Even worse, I had to pretend that I was getting it. Watching you on that boat last year, necking with that mark, was maybe the low point of my life. Now that we're married… it's different. You just put it very well. I trust you. So now I find that I actually enjoy when men recognize that you're the most beautiful woman in the world. I love it that I have this amazing goddess hanging on my arm dressed as skimpily as possible. I watch the men drool… and now I can laugh at them. So maybe you shouldn't be so proud. Is that wrong?"

Sarah started laughing. "I'm still proud of you," she insisted. "Some people might think that it's wrong. I sure don't. That's something you've… well, earned isn't the right word. It's not something you can earn. Here's what I think. If people think it's wrong, who cares? Maybe it's not our proudest moment, maybe it's even a bit cruel, but we've paid the price to have a little fun at the expense of a group of lecherous men who have their heads filled with impure thoughts. That seems like justice to me, some small payback for the things we've had to endure. I know that you don't believe this. I'm going to keep saying it anyway. I enjoy playing this game as least as much as you do. As far as the 'skimpily dressed' part, I think you know that I don't have much personal modesty. We can find some ways to even push the outside of that envelope a little farther. I think that would be a bit-o-fun."

Chuck joined her laughing. "Now I'm afraid of what I've just gotten myself into," he teased. "Especially with Carina around egging you on. Just how wild are we going to get? We're talking looky, no touchy, right?"

"I keep telling you," Sarah replied. "You're always wise to be a little afraid. Definitely looky, no touchy, at least if you'll stop flashing on some evil terrorist every ten minutes. The good news is that you're in charge. Compared to Carina, you're something of a sissy when it comes to nudity or getting wild. Besides, you can always tell me if my flirting pushes it too far and I'll rein it in." She turned a little serious. "Now it's my turn. Can I tell you something without you judging me?"

"Of course."

Sarah paused for a long moment. "Men have been hitting on me for the past ten years," she finally started. "And I'm not even talking about the marks. It never failed. Anytime I set foot into someplace like this, including tonight, a steady stream of men in tuxedos were all sure that they could charm me into bed. It got to be… ridiculous. Oh, they were all smooth and confident. Most of them were rich. Some of them were even really good looking. But it was obvious… they were after one thing. I'd be lying if I said that I never fell for it. I did a time or two at first. I wasn't used to being pursued and some of them could be very charming. But it was always the same. They were just looking to use me. For the first couple of years, I had fun shooting them down. But eventually, even that got tiresome. Now it disgusts me. I almost kicked a guy's ass five minutes ago. One of the main reasons that I fell for you was that you weren't like that. From the first day, you wanted more than a night of loveless sex. You loved me for me… even when you found out how messed up I was. You became my best friend. Then you made me part of your family. And you did all of that when I was treating you horribly… when I was telling you that you were never going to get anything out of it."

Sarah noticed Chuck's grin and punched him playfully in the shoulder. "I know," she teased. "I haven't told you anything yet that you don't already know. I do have a point. Standing there in that tux, you look exactly like all of those men that I've grown to despise… just like the moron, five minutes ago, who thought that my agreeing to a single dance was license to put his hand on my ass. But Chuck, it's completely different with you. It's like you have a spell or something. You make my knees weak and my throat dry. Look at me. I'm sitting at a table with my husband, who I've had sex with about a hundred times in the past month, and my hands are shaking. I'm trained to keep my cool in any situation, yet right now, I'm stammering like an idiot. I feel exactly like all of those men who were trying to charm my pants off always wanted me to feel. I really don't understand it. I'm sitting here helplessly aroused just by looking at you. You know me… I hate being helpless. But I'm too far gone to care. And I know you. You're immediately going to jump to some stupid conclusion that plain old Chuck is no longer good enough for me. That's not it at all. Don't think that. In fact, I don't want you to change. Please don't make this a bad thing. Chuck, here is the honest, no bullshit truth. You just take my breath away."

Chuck leaned over to kiss her. He really wasn't expecting to start a make out session. It just turned out that way. "How could I possibly twist that into a bad thing?" he asked. "You couldn't have possibly given me a better present. You trust me. You know that I would never exploit you. Thank you."

Chuck paused for a moment. "This is what I think we should do," he started. "We're young, healthy, rich, and in love. Let's take some time for ourselves and just have some fun with each other, seeing the world. If, in our travels, we tease and frustrate some jet set playboys with impure thoughts, I can live with that."

"I thought that you wanted a family," Sarah said sadly. "We're fighting this war to be able to have a family. Chuck, I don't want you to give up what you want, just for me."

"You don't understand," Chuck answered. "I'm not giving anything up. This is what I want. Our war is almost over. I still want that family just as much as I ever did. I think you do too. But we're young. We can have fun for a couple of years and still be in our twenties. Won't the messy diapers wait for a couple of years while we get it out of our system?"

"Two years of sexy playtime," Sarah finally agreed. "No longer. Then we work on the family."

"I do have one request," Chuck said. "Could we go to Paris and see the Eifel Tower?"

Sarah grinned. "I don't think you understand how sexy playtime works," she said. "If we're going to become Lothario and his blonde conquest for the next two years, terrorizing horny men around the globe, you're now completely in charge. Sex is a key part of that, but it's more than just sex. You don't make requests. We're all meeting at the beach tomorrow. If you want to show off your new conquest, say the word and watch how quickly my bikini top hits the sand. If you want to go to Paris, we'll go tomorrow night. If you want to sneak in a quickie at the top of the Eifel Tower, say the word, and watch me make it happen. We already have a robust sex life. I'm afraid that I'm at the point where I need you to step up your game a notch or two. It's going to be a long two years. I find that I need to be seduced… almost continually."

"Wait a minute," Chuck teased. "I think that the blonde conquest has some game to step up herself as well. I might need… encouragement."

Sarah started giggling. "I'm way ahead of you, pal," she said. "My new assignment for the next two years is to constantly keep you as 'encouraged' as I possibly can. Whenever we're in public, you can expect me to smile, hang on your arm, rub my chest against yours, and follow your lead with a look on my face that says that you just rocked my world. When we're not in public, hopefully, you'll allow me to make the occasional respectful request of my own. You can also expect a nightly erotic lingerie performance. For the record, nothing happened in that limo tonight. But that doesn't mean some of those erotic performances couldn't include me reenacting some fictional account of what he was hoping would have happened. Any questions?"

That got Chuck laughing. She was obviously partially teasing. The idea of Sarah becoming a genuine blonde conquest was pretty silly. Then again, she was plainly also partially serious. He could see the arousal that was normally in her eyes now was at a record level. He was also convinced that she would honestly enjoy playing her role. The topless beach thing would be interesting. Finally, the nightly erotic lingerie performances didn't sound half bad. "Just one," he said, trying to control his laughing. "This sounds pretty intense. Am I going to survive?"

"That remains to be seen," Sarah answered. "I hope so. I've grown rather fond of you." Sarah moved over to sit on his lap and moved her mouth to his ear so she could whisper seductively. "But be warned. I'm going to do my level best to make this as hard for you as I possibly can for the entire two years," she said. "The double entendre is very intentional. So, do you want to go upstairs and get our new deal consummated with a bang?"

Chuck shook his head. "Not yet," he replied. "I want to show off my flirty conquest in the casino for a while."

Chuck laughed at the look of dismay on Sarah's face. "I'm teasing you," he said. "We can go now. Understand something. I'm in charge. You're going to pay full price tonight for calling me a sissy. I'm thinking erotic lingerie performance, sexy fictional story, and a long, creative lap dance."

Sarah smiled at him. "The sexy hat trick?" she asked. "On the first night? Aren't you afraid of keeping up that pace for two years? Not that I'm complaining."

"You're the one who wanted to consummate our new deal with a bang," Chuck answered with a grin. "You're not all talk are you?" Of course, he knew full well that he had just challenged her… and might live to regret it. This time when he kissed her, it was with every intention of starting a make out session. Their tongues danced for a long, wonderful moment. When they finally had to come up for air, Casey and Pussy were standing there looking at them, laughing so hard that they had to lean on each other.

"You were right," Pussy said.

"He gets lucky four times a day."

x-x-x-x-x


	27. The Beach

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _As always, a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _For you of a certain age, you may remember a movie called Blame it on Rio. I think it was Demi Moore's first role. It's about two friends, who are both having relationship problems, taking their teenage daughters on vacation in Rio. There is a scene where they all go to the beach. The men are having a wonderful time looking at all the topless women, acting like two friends of their age would in that situation… until their daughters come running up. I bring this up because I can see a similar experience happening soon at a beach in Monte Carlo._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **The Beach**

x-x-x-x-x

Steven smiled as he watched Carina struggling to get her breathing back under control. She was flat on her back and her eyes were closed, her shapely chest raising and falling as she tried to force air into her lungs. "Are you okay?" he asked, beginning to get genuinely concerned.

"She's a fool," Carina panted without opening her eyes.

Steven was confused. "Who's a fool?" he asked.

Carina still didn't open her eyes. "Mary," she answered. "Agent Frost. Your ex. She's a moron. She's too stupid to live."

That got Steven chuckling. "So I take it that my performance was okay," he teased. "I was afraid that I had forgotten how."

Carina looked almost catatonic, but her mind was racing a million miles a second as she considered how to answer. She really didn't have the words to adequately describe what had just happened. Magical didn't come close. One thing was undeniable… Carina Miller's view on life had just dramatically changed in the past hour… and there was no possible path back to the way it was before. The irony was that it was sex, the thing that she valued so little that she casually gave it away, that now was so important. Except this wasn't sex… not really. It was at a completely different level… and she knew it. Was this what Sarah was always raving about with Chuck? Was making love really this much better than plain sex?

Here was the truly amazing part. Yesterday that epiphany would have terrified her. Today, it was the exact opposite. Her main fear was to not scare him off. Then again, their relationship was built on frank honesty. Not to mention that he was far too smart to fool anyway. It would be counterproductive and just plain stupid to try. So she finally opened her eyes and turned her head to face him. "That was life changing," she sighed. "I've never felt like that before." It was true. Carina was something of an expert when it came to sex. She had always been able to enjoy it, even under less than perfect circumstances. After all, some of the marks she was required to seduce were absolute creeps. But she wasn't prepared for this. "Thank you."

That got Steven laughing. "Why are you thanking me?" he asked as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "Are you under the impression that I was doing you a favor? That was amazing for me too. Give me a few minutes and, if you're willing, I can try and do you another favor. I still have a little rust to get rid of. How are your ribs?"

Carina looked at him and thought how quickly things had changed in the past few weeks. Her initial attraction was that he was the great Orion… the legend that all spies talked about. He had single handedly fought off the CIA, Fulcrum, Alexei Volkoff, maybe even others for twenty years that she didn't know about… and he had done all of that on his own terms. It started off pretty simple. She was going to offer her hero that one service she did best, mostly as a tribute. She'd do her best to enjoy it, like she always did, but there wasn't a lot of emotion involved… it certainly wasn't romantic in any way. But then something happened… she found that she honestly liked him. She started looking for excuses to be alone with him. Quickly those feelings became an emotional snowball, growing as it rolled down the hill. Suddenly, before she knew what had happened, it was no longer simple… and his last thought worried about her ribs summed up the change perfectly.

Oh, he was still the great Orion. If anything, he was even more brilliant than the legend. That was still really sexy. He was still her hero. From the start, there wasn't much he could ask her for and not get. But she was now willing to admit that she was in love… not with her hero, Orion. No, it was Steven, the humble, shy guy who was her best friend, cared for her wellbeing over his, and could always make her laugh. The irony wasn't lost on her. She was enjoying the sex more than he was. Now there was absolutely nothing he could ask her for and not get. If the past week was any indication, she was now going to be doing most of the asking. So how to answer his question without devolving into a sappy mess? Maybe keep it light. "My ribs are fine," she said. "I didn't notice any rust, but I'm always up for helping you get rid of any. You can never be too careful about these things. I do have one request."

Steven just laughed. Since they were both naked, who could possibly predict what Carina's request could be? It was almost scary.

Carina quickly clarified. Maybe she could avoid sounding sappy… but she still had a serious point to make. "When we get to Russia, I want you to introduce me to Mary," she said.

"I want to thank her for being such a fool."

x-x-x-x-x

One of the advantages of being at a resort that catered to rich jet-setters was that nobody questioned virtually anything that you did. Normally, sitting at the hotel restaurant eating breakfast, wearing nothing except their bathing suits, would have raised a few eyebrows. If anyone noticed, they kept it to themselves.

Everyone was fairly giddy, with the possible exception of Ellie. Truth be told, she would rather have been in bed, sleeping off her massive hangover. Never mind that meeting for breakfast and spending the day on the beach had been her idea in the first place. She would probably have blown this off, except that Casey had the perfect motivator. He pointed out that they had already paid for the deluxe cabana. That was enough. So Ellie was sitting there, her dark glasses hiding her red eyes, drinking a cup of coffee.

Naturally, the family was very sensitive to the fact that Ellie wasn't in top shape and allowed her to sit in peace. "What's with you?" Carina teased. "I would think you would know that drinking that much tequila isn't healthy… you being a trained medical doctor and all."

Sarah sat and watched Carina teasing her sister. Not that she felt sorry for Ellie in any way. After all, she could dish it out with the best of them. Then again, Sarah also recognized the hypocrisy. She had witnessed only about a million of Carina's tequila induced hangovers. They weren't pretty. Ellie's retort was simple… her middle finger held up in the universal symbol. It was perhaps nonverbal, but as communication went it proved to be very effective.

Carina was enjoying her sport. "I'd be a tad more respectful if I were you," she continued her teasing. "Next week, when your dad and I get married, I instantly become your step-mom. I'll ground you so fast that you won't know what hit you."

Carina was apparently oblivious to the jaws dropping around the table that her bomb shell caused. "I think that part of your problem is growing up with a lack of discipline," she explained through her giggles. "It has led you into an undisciplined lifestyle. I'd be an irresponsible parent if I allowed that to continue. I have my work cut out for me to turn that around."

The idea of Carina Miller lecturing, well anybody when it came right down to it, about the hazards of an undisciplined lifestyle struck Sarah as funny. Calling Ellie undisciplined was particularly silly. Ellie was the most disciplined person she knew.

Devon was the first one to recover his wits enough to ask the question. "Um, you're getting married?" he asked awkwardly. "When did this happen?"

Steven had finally recovered enough to chime in. "Yeah," he agreed. "That's an excellent question. When did this happen?"

Suddenly the gloating look on Carina's face was replaced by one of concern. "You don't want to get married?" she asked.

Steven recognized the vulnerability in her voice right away. "I'm not saying that," he replied. "I just want it to be for the right reasons."

That got Carina laughing again. "Don't worry," she said. "I'm not pregnant. I don't think so anyway. There are plenty of right reasons, but this is probably not one of them. I want to get married in Russia with Devon and Ellie. That way Mary will be there. Any objection?"

"Please don't ground me," Chuck piped in. "But I don't think that this is the part of the ceremony where you ask for objections."

Okay, so that really struck Sarah as funny. She was laughing helplessly when Carina struck next. "We should go shopping for wedding dresses this afternoon," she said excitedly. "You and Chuck should probably do this for real too. I mean, if I can wear white, you surely can. Why not?"

That stopped Sarah's laughing in its tracks. It was a complicated subject for her… and it had nothing to do with wearing white. Being officially married was obviously important to Chuck. It was almost the first thing he had asked her for on that glorious day when her life changed forever. That fact alone made it important to her. She had agreed to do it as soon as it was possible… and she meant it. But lying in that hospital bed, pledging their lifetime commitment to each other, was the most romantic thing she could imagine, the unquestioned highlight of her life. Why replace that life moment with something artificial?

Chuck could probably sense her thoughts because he smiled, reached out his hand, and shook his head. "We're already married," he said. "It already is real."

And there it was. Today's reminder of the wonderful life she had stumbled into. He could read her mind. "It is," she agreed as she grabbed his offered hand.

"Besides," Chuck continued. "If last night was any indication of our normal married life, I don't think I could survive another wedding night."

And there it was, the other shoe that always inevitably dropped. He could always make her laugh. The entire table, including Ellie, was laughing helplessly. It was one of those warm, family moments that Sarah found that she couldn't get enough of.

Carina was clearly giddy. She turned to Maryanne. "What about you?" she asked. "Did the big guy rock your world enough last night that you want to become Mrs. Big Guy?"

"He definitely rocked my world," Maryanne replied through her laughing. "It was amazing." She turned to Sarah. "Before I forget I wanted to tell you, you're really missing out."

Sarah was still laughing helplessly. "I'll take your word for it," she was finally able to get out. "Besides, no one could be better than my guy."

"Wait a minute," Carina protested. "I've got ten bucks that says no one could touch my Steven in the sack."

Ellie was finally feeling well enough to join the sport. "It seems like we have something of a dilemma," she deadpanned. "The only way to resolve this is to organize a round robin tournament."

Sarah stopped laughing. Ellie was obviously teasing. But talk about something that was never going to happen. "I don't share," she said. "Sorry. I'm afraid that this is no contest. My guy has nothing to prove."

"We'll have to agree to disagree about that," Carina replied.

"I suddenly find that I don't share either."

x-x-x-x-x

It was one of the most famous beaches in the entire world. Frankly, that designation wasn't all that impressive. Chuck and Sarah lived a short drive from several of the most famous beaches in the world. Before they were married, back when their relationship was just a cover, one of those beaches became their spot… that place where they could honestly talk, grow close, and eventually fall in love for real.

Of course, there was a major difference. Back home there was something of an unofficial contest among the ladies to see who could wear the skimpiest swimwear. Not here. Virtually every woman was topless. Sarah was expecting that. She had been here with the CATs on assignments several times in the past. The new development was that a healthy percentage was now bottomless as well. This could get interesting. Poor Chuck was already beet red as he frantically searched for someplace to look and not have his vision filled with some beautiful woman posing in her birthday suit. It was cute.

As tents went, their private cabana was a palace. It was only about twenty yards from the water, yet, if you moved to the back room, where the cold drinks and fresh fruit was, you had total privacy. Sarah grabbed Chuck's hand and led him into the cabana. One thing being married surely hadn't changed about Sarah. If she had a firm hold of your wrist… and wanted you to go somewhere… you went. Once they were inside, Sarah grabbed his other hand, forcing him to face her. "It's okay, Chuck," she said, making sure she had her most relaxed smile pointing at him. "We're on a topless beach. There are some very beautiful women out there. You're allowed to look. I'm fine with that."

Chuck shook his head. "I don't want to look," he insisted. "That's not a husband line. It's the honest truth. I'm married to the most beautiful woman in the world. I'm living this fantasy life where this goddess makes it her daily mission to see how aroused she can make me. Why in the world would I do anything to put the uncomfortable thought in her head that I might be having sexual thoughts about another woman? So thank you for the permission, but that doesn't seem very smart to me."

Sarah took a moment, then stepped up and embraced him warmly. "I know," she sighed. "You're a perfect husband. We're at such a good place. That's exactly why I can do this and you're allowed to look. You've been so great at getting over your jealousy. The truth is that I'm so proud of you I could start crying right here. That tells me that I need to do the same exact thing. It's going to be a long two years of showing each other off, if we constantly have to worry about making the other jealous. And I find that I want to show you off to the world just as much as you do. So if we're out someplace and a young lady smiles at you, don't be afraid to smile back. If she asks you to dance and the mood strikes, dance with her. Smile and make pleasant conversation. But when she inevitably asks you to go with her to her place, tell her that you're happily married, come find me, and we'll make a serious statement by locking lips for a long moment. I'll do the same thing. We agreed to have fun with it. This is exactly what that means."

Chuck pulled her even closer. "Agreed," he said. "This is just me being silly. But I'd feel a lot better about this game we're playing if we were wearing wedding rings. If someone hit on us when we're wearing a wedding ring, they deserve whatever humiliation that they get, don't they?"

"It's a good point," Sarah agreed. "This afternoon, let's go shopping for wedding rings."

"Actually," Chuck said. "I hope you won't be mad. But I already took care of that." He nodded to the worker who was carrying a box. "We can always return them."

Chuck took a ring out of the box and placed it on Sarah's finger. "We were only engaged for five minutes," he said. "But I think you'd have to agree, that it was a magical five minutes."

Sarah looked at the huge rock on her finger in awe. "Chuck," she whispered. "This is the biggest diamond I've ever seen. How much does something like this cost?"

"Money really isn't important to us, is it?" Chuck asked as he slid the wedding band on her finger. "If you really want to know, it was a little over a half million. But this is a ring for a goddess. If some dude misses that and hits on you anyway, well, I don't have any sympathy for his, soon to be, bruised ego. So now, no matter how much of that bikini you take off today, or in the future, as long as you're wearing that ring, you'll always be fully clothed. Being that possessive is maybe not my proudest moment."

Sarah took his ring out of the box and examined the inside of band closely. "It's missing the inscription," she teased as she slid the ring on his finger. "Property of Sarah Bartowski. Maybe we can take care of that detail later. Being possessive is not the same as being jealous. I think we've been through this particular discussion multiple times. The conclusion is always the same. We're both insanely possessive of each other… it's who we are… and we're not going to change. Anyone who objects can go to hell."

That got them both giggling. They were still giggling when Sarah pressed her lips to his.

"Uh oh. It looks like he's turned her on… again."

Sarah looked up from the increasingly hot make out session. For the first time, she realized that the entire family was watching them… much like you would watch a sporting event.

Maryanne turned to Casey. "Give me a diamond that big and I'd give it up right here on the sand in front of everyone," she teased. "What are the odds that they go for it in front of us? They have to be at least fifty-fifty, right?"

That allowed Ellie to chine in. "If last night was any indication," she mumbled. "You'd give it up right here in the sand in front of everyone for, oh, I don't know, an expired Taco Bell coupon."

That got the entire group laughing helplessly. "It was a wild night," Maryanne was finally able to get out. She turned to Casey. "And I do like Taco Bell," she said with a wink. "So if you did happen to have a coupon…"

"Where would he possibly have room in that banana hammock for anything like a Taco Bell coupon?" Carina asked sarcastically. "I know we're on a mostly nude beach, but don't you have a towel or something? That thing is obscene."

"Speak for yourself," Ellie complained. "He's watched me naked on the camera hidden in my bedroom only about a million times. For the record, the package is pretty impressive. I think justice demands that I get to enjoy the view for once."

"It took some serious talking to get him to put it on," Maryanne explained. "I had to turn back into Pussy Galore for a few minutes. It's the only suit they had in his size. I may have had something to do with that," she finally admitted through her giggles. "The clerk is a friend of mine."

Casey opened his mouth to respond but decided that saying anything would just make him look even more foolish.

"Yeah," Ellie mocked. "You 'talked' him into it. I seriously doubt that. It's hard to talk with your mouth full."

Normally Chuck wouldn't have been able to resist taking a shot at Casey's discomfort. But he currently had other things on his mind. He pulled away from Sarah's embrace while everyone was still roaring. "You know that I didn't do it for that, don't you?" he asked softly. "I'm not trying to impress you with material things. Besides, the money I used was just as much yours. I just… Sarah, that ring was made for a goddess. I just wanted to see you wearing it."

Sarah really didn't want to tear her attention away from the hilarious scene of Ellie and Maryanne going at it. For being a newbie, Maryanne could obviously handle herself. That was impressive, seeing as how Ellie could really dish it out. But her husband, being so sweet, would always trump that. And she had a record to set straight. "So, you didn't buy it to get hot sex from me?" she asked sarcastically, while still giggling. "That's good because you would have wasted half a million dollars trying to buy something that you were already going to get. If you want me to prove that and give it up right here in the sand in front of everyone, just nod. Chuck, you're such a nice guy. Why are you always so sweet?"

"Or maybe not," Chuck protested as he reached for one of the strings to her top. "Has it ever occurred to you that I wasn't being altruistic? That maybe I want to see the most beautiful woman in the world on my arm, wearing that ring with that sexy smile… and nothing else? We had a deal about today. Hello? Two years of playtime? Mostly nude beach?"

Sarah could only stand there and giggle helplessly as Chuck slowly pulled, first on the tie around her neck, then the one around her back until he was holding her top in his hand. Of course Steven and Devon were instantly getting a major eyeful. But how could she object? He was right. They did have a deal. So she just moved her arms out of the way, stood there, and posed for anyone who wanted to look, waiting to see if Chuck was going to take her bottom off as well. Actually 'if' probably wasn't the right word. Based solely on the sparkle in his eyes, he'd probably get around to it sometime today.

Casey found the opening to get the teasing off of him, and he wasn't about to pass it up. "Damn, Devon," he teased. "I thought that you were a doctor? You haven't seen bare breasts before. Ask her really nicely and maybe she'll let you touch them."

Sarah glanced over at the object of Casey's teasing. Devon's face was fire engine red. It was so cute. But she also saw no reason to go easy on him. "Aren't you sweet?" she teased. "My chest thanks you for the vote of confidence. I'm afraid that I can't let you touch them, no matter how nicely you ask, sorry about that. My deal with Chuck is looky, no touchy."

Devon didn't back down an inch. "I don't want to touch them," he insisted. "I'll not deny that you're perhaps the most beautiful woman in the world. It's honestly a little intimidating. I'm sorry if I seem to be staring. But that's not really it. I'm happy that Chuck found you. I'm happy that you're part of my family. I love you, Sarah."

Okay, so Sarah was a pretty tough person to try and sweet talk… but that did the trick. Suddenly her arms were around Devon's neck, and the naked chest he wasn't allowed to touch was pressed firmly into his. She had to wait a long moment to gather her composure. "I've never been part of a family before," she finally said, her voice no more than a whisper. "That's been a wonderful experience for me. So I love you too."

"I have an idea," Chuck teased. "She's going to need some sunblock. She's just exposed a ton of white skin. She most definitely needs some help rubbing it in. The very last thing that I want is for her to get sunburned in that particular location. My original plan was to sell tickets on the beach. Casey would be in charge of organizing a proper line. But you're a doctor. We really don't need the money. Maybe you could just take care of it."

That got everyone roaring again at poor Devon's expense. Maryanne was the next to take off her top. "I'll let you touch mine," she continued the merciless teasing. "Pretty much anytime you want. Be advised. I don't have any silly 'looky, no touchy' rule. I know that I'm not exactly Sarah… but I'd love some help with the sunblock thing." She was displaying more than a little false modesty. The tent was filled with amazing ladies. Sarah was genuinely one of the most beautiful women in the world. Carina could easily have been an actress or a supermodel. Ellie was so attractive that she often had a hard time getting people to take her seriously as a doctor. But for topless beach purposes, Maryanne had the best body of any of them… and she knew it.

Carina looked anxiously at Steven. "Is this okay with you?" she asked.

Steven had to pause a moment to make sure that she was even being serious. She had lost her top in Chuck and Sarah's basement during the pizza party just a few short weeks ago, before she had her first drink, before everyone was even downstairs. So now, here on a topless beach? "Are you seriously asking for my permission to take off your top?" he asked. "Who are you and what have you done with Carina?"

Sarah was laughing so hard that she had to lean on Chuck to keep from falling over. "What is with you?" she asked. "I half expected you to take off your top in the restaurant."

Carina ignored her best friend. "We look at things like this differently," she explained. "Sarah's right. Two months ago, knowing we were going to this beach, I probably wouldn't have bothered to even put on a top. But I'm about to become a wife. I don't have good instincts in this area. When we get married, that means something… to both of us. I want to respect that. I think it's important for you to know that I don't want to do anything you wouldn't approve of. Since I don't have a fucking clue what a wife is supposed to do, and I don't want to guess and be wrong, I'll just ask before I do anything that you might consider wild. Is that wrong?"

Steven grabbed her hand and pulled her close. "It's not wrong," he insisted. "Thank you. I really appreciate that you're trying. But I think you might be worrying for nothing. I know that you've been pretty wild. The truth is that I'm crazy about wild Carina. Let's not kill her off with a bunch of rules. If you cross a line that makes me uncomfortable, I promise to find a way to gently let you know. But we're on a topless beach. Taking off your top in this context doesn't seem to be all that wild. Besides, maybe I'm in the mood to show off my beautiful girl too. Chuck shouldn't get all of the fun."

Steven was obviously smoother with his answer than she expected. Because Carina wasn't even aware that he was holding her top in his hand until she looked down. "Wow," she said with a grin. "That's a very good skill to have. Now I'm curious how much practice you've had."

Ellie looked around uncomfortably. She was conspicuously the only girl still wearing a top. Taking off her clothes in public wasn't something she ever thought about. She wasn't sure what Devon's reaction would be. Her chest wasn't competitive with the other girls anyway. Not to mention that her dad and brother were standing right there waiting in horror for her decision. Fortunately, her brother took her off the hook for the moment.

"Let's play some football."

x-x-x-x-x


	28. Home

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _As always, a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services. I really appreciate it._

 _I would still appreciate your comments. The worst thing for an author is silence. You can't tell if you're connecting with your readers, if they're getting where you think the story is going or not. And those comments don't have to be praise. Of course, I'd be lying if I tried to say that I don't enjoy the praise. CharahKids would probably also enjoy it, lol. But I actually learn more from the critical comments. Just as long as you're respectful and allow me to respond, you can say anything._

 **Home**

x-x-x-x-x

Normally, any football game that was the guys against the girls was a mismatch. This was no exception. Devon had actually been a standout in high school and was offered several college scholarships if the doctor thing hadn't worked out. Casey was built like the classic defensive end. Chuck was tall, fast, and had good hands. Even Steven was surprisingly athletic.

On the other side, Sarah had never touched a football before, knew nothing about the rules, and was more than fine with that. Carina had a rib injury that was still a little sore. In fact, the fentanyl patch was conspicuous since it was the only thing she was wearing above her waist. Only Maryanne and Ellie had ever actually played in a game before today. Maryanne was the only one who could throw anything approaching a spiral over ten yards. Ellie was a delicate thing who looked more cheerleader than football player. And each girl gave up a hundred pounds and several inches to whomever she was matched up against. It was a true mismatch. When Sarah pulled Chuck aside and suggested a side bet, he was sure that this was one of those times that Sarah wanted to lose to him. At the time, he was right. So maybe he agreed with a little too much enthusiasm and upped the stakes significantly. After all, this was a sure thing… but there was one factor that they hadn't accounted for.

Football was designed to be played on grass… with cleats. On grass, the bigger, stronger men would have had a ridiculous advantage. In the soft sand, the harder the guys tried to run, the more they simply spun their wheels and ran in place, while the much lighter girls scooted over the top of the sand, and giggled as they ran circles around the guys.

There was some discussion about whether the girls should put their tops back on for the game. Ellie pointed out that they would really be bouncing around as they ran. That was a show that the general public didn't need. But she was out voted. This was a topless beach, Carina argued. Maryanne agreed. She was obviously looking forward to providing that very show. Sarah pointed out that wearing tops in this setting made you stand out. Spies were always taught to never stand out.

That gave Casey the opportunity to point out the problem. Sarah running with a football was going to stand out… if she was wearing a top or not.

It quickly became obvious how this game was going to go. The guys racked their collective brains trying to devise a strategy to overcome the girls speed advantage. After all, they knew the game. But try as they might, nothing worked. Maryanne and Ellie had been teasing each other mercilessly all morning, but as a team, they quickly became unstoppable. At first the guys tried a zone defense. Eventually they tried to double team Ellie. Even that didn't slow her down a bit. As it turned out, Maryanne's chest wasn't the only part of her body that was impressive. She had been a quarterback in a flag football league back at Duke. Whatever she lacked in arm strength, she more than made up for in accuracy. She could seemingly put the ball anyplace she wanted. And whatever Ellie lacked in size, she more than made up for with speed, quickness, and the girl had moves.

The spies had been trained to be able to read a man's mind. Whether that was the reason or not, it didn't matter. On defense, Carina seemingly had a sixth sense about where the ball was going to go and invariably got there first. She had picked off so many passes that Casey finally stopped throwing to her side of the field.

Sarah very quickly discovered something wonderful in her infant football playing career that turned around her previous distain for the sport. The game not only allowed her to hit people, it was actually encouraged. That allowed her competitiveness, which normally bordered on an annoying obsession, to turn into an asset. Even though this game was technically 'two hand touch', which, given how the ladies were dressed, was an interesting concept all on its own, that didn't mean she couldn't block. And even the men had to admit, whatever poor bastard was carrying the ball became a lot easier to touch after they were lying on their ass.

The girl's offense became, get Ellie the ball, and watch Sarah and Carina clear a path for her. There wasn't a single man who hadn't been ready to make a tackle, yet found himself lying on his back, wondering where that blonde streak of destruction came from. She maybe took it a little easier on Steven, but Devon and Casey certainly didn't get any mercy. She used her martial arts training to belt out some warrior grunts as she knocked them flat on their backs every chance she got. In the soft sand, finding yourself on your ass was far more surprising than painful.

If she went out of her way to hit Chuck… and she clearly did… well, it was usually gentler and in good fun. If it was any consolation, she always made sure to rub her chest against his provocatively as she helped him up, just to make sure there were no hard feelings. Of course, he always checked to see if Casey or Devon got the same consolation treatment from her. But it was clearly a husband only thing… or she didn't particularly care if Casey or Devon had hard feelings. The trade seemed worth it.

Casey knew better than to try and take Sarah on. But Devon clearly about had enough of getting his ass handed to him by this beautiful blonde goddess, whom he outweighed by well over a hundred pounds. Especially since the men watching openly made fun of him every time it happened. Mind you, it was all in good fun, but maybe Sarah needed to find out what it felt like to be knocked on her ass. So it was time to dish out a bit of the physical stuff. The problem was that she was far too quick for him. Every time he would launch some devastating hit, she would grin, easily dodge the blow, and watch giggling as Devon swallowed a mouth full of sand. Finally he gave up.

Aside from the spectators, there was plenty of trash talk. The girls, especially Ellie, took full opportunity to rub it in that they were kicking ass so easily. Sarah was even becoming concerned that Ellie was taking challenging their collective manhood a little too far. That was until Chuck taught her the second wonderful thing Sarah would learn about the sport today. It was something Chuck called 'halftime.' Halftime apparently consisted of finding a private corner of the cabana, turning a lounge chair around for a bit of privacy in front of one of the huge misting fans, pulling her onto his lap, and making out for a while.

She was sure that he was making up the idea of halftime to neck with her when she was already mostly naked. Indeed, his hands took full advantage. Maybe it didn't rise to the level of giving it up in the sand in front of everybody. But it was definitely as close to sex as you could come and still claim you hadn't done the deed. Maybe it was strategy. Maybe he figured that being so aroused would slow her down a little for the second half. Maybe the other girls were someplace getting the same treatment. Sarah found that she couldn't come up with a complaint… well, except maybe that halftime was only fifteen minutes.

After halftime, it was back to the game. Even though the guys were getting their asses handed to them, on the scoreboard and both physically and verbally, how could they complain? It was every man's dream. Where ever they looked, there was a beautiful woman, running with a football, and wearing little more than a smile. Playing that silly game of football was maybe the most fun Sarah had ever had, outside of the bedroom and dance floor. Yesterday, she would have laughed at anybody who suggested it. Now she looked forward to the next time. It was a fun way to spend a few hours with family. There was the usual laughing and teasing, that they had all gotten very used to.

Even the other men on the beach behaved… as much as could be expected. Yes, many of them gathered around and watched the game. There was the occasional, not so gentlemanly, admiration expressed for the perfect breasts bouncing around, especially the four belonging to Maryanne and Sarah, as they ran. It was easily ignored. Sarah was wearing her new rings. The beach really wasn't the time or place to try and pick someone up anyway. The real test of the ring's power would be tonight in the club. But honestly, seeing her so easily putting big strong men like Devon and Casey on their backs, wondering what in the world hit them, probably was today's major deterrent in keeping them from trying to hit on her… she might hit back. That was more than fine with Sarah. She always liked it when people were a little afraid of her… and Chuck liked it too, when it came right down to it.

Finally it was time to get back. The plan had been to take a short nap and get dressed for one more fancy dinner and night of dancing before Maryanne's flight home tomorrow. Their cabana had a private fresh water shower to get the salt and sand off… the key word being private. After a day running in the hot sand, the water was freezing… and its effect very obvious. Given what the ladies were not wearing, that was a show the general public didn't need. At least Casey got some revenge for Ellie's earlier teasing as her top did little to hide the shape of her chest after the freezing water.

Finally, Casey pulled Ellie aside for a second. "Look," he said. "I understand that you're upset about the camera in your bedroom. Anyone would be. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. It was an unacceptable invasion of personal privacy. But I want you to know that I always tried, best I could, to respect your privacy."

Ellie was sure that he was teasing her. "So," she said. "You're saying that you never saw me naked?"

To his credit, Casey looked her in the eye. "I'm not saying that," he admitted. "I'm not going to stand here and tell you that I didn't recognize what I was seeing or that I don't think you're a very beautiful woman. What I am saying is that I'm not a pervert. We weren't friends back then. But even then, I was embarrassed… for you, but also that I was part of so ridiculously violating your fundamental human rights. I only reviewed that surveillance when it was professionally absolutely necessary, and whenever there was something intimate, I avoided it the best I could."

Ellie stood and looked at him critically for a long moment. "Thank you," she finally said. "With the company I've been keeping lately, I don't feel so beautiful."

"Well, you are," Casey insisted.

"I'm not sure Devon agrees," Ellie sighed. "Not when I'm standing next to Sarah. Something's been wrong with him all day. Do you think I should have taken off my top?"

That got Casey laughing. "Is that a trick question?" he asked. Then he got serious again. "That's not for me to say. But if you don't think that Devon finds you beautiful, no matter who you're standing next to, I don't know what to tell you. That's not what's bothering him."

Ellie was stunned. "Okay, I give," she finally said. "Then what is bothering him?"

That got Casey laughing again. "Let me ask you a question," he said. "This morning, when all the girls were bragging about which of their guys was the best in bed… you were the only one who didn't say anything. How do you think that made him feel? Aren't you satisfied with him in the bed department? Last night, Carina, Sarah, and even Maryanne, were up in their room by eleven. You were the only one who stayed downstairs and got drunk dancing with other men while Devon was in the casino."

Casey stood there and watched Ellie's face turn redder by the moment as the truth in his words hit her between the eyes. Finally, he grabbed her arm gently. "This isn't that bad," he reassured.

"Go talk to him."

x-x-x-x-x

"You really didn't think that we came up here to take a nap, did you?"

Chuck was sitting on the bed when she walked up. Suddenly all thoughts of how good a nap would feel had vanished. No matter how many times it happened, he could never get over his wife. He had seen her naked chest so many times, including pretty much all day today, that you would think, at some point, it would become routine… maybe even boring. Frankly lots of men had seen her without some or all of her clothes. She wasn't bashful about that. But as he looked at her standing there, teasing him with her hands on her hips and that Cheshire cat grin, the epiphany struck him.

When Sarah wanted too, she could light up the room with her smile. She could become the sexiest thing on two legs… she could do it on demand… and it really had nothing to do with how little she was wearing. Some would attribute that to spy training. Chuck knew better. It was all her. To be sure, she had used her good looks as a spy in the past. It was an effective weapon against men. She had even occasionally been in situations where she had to show them some skin. But he was the only man who she had ever showed this particular look… half pure genuine affection, and half pure animal lust. Even Bryce had never seen it. It was something that she had invented and now reserved exclusively for him. It was impossible to deny the glow that knowledge caused. "Um," he said hesitantly. "Obviously not."

"For the next two hours, I'll be addressed as ma'am," Sarah said. "Understood?"

Chuck really didn't know where this was going. That part actually did sound like it came from spy training. But she was grinning. The expected response was obvious. "Yes, ma'am."

"This is my first time winning one of these bets," Sarah explained. "Thank you, football. So if we're going to continue to play this game for the next two years, and we most definitely are, I think you need to learn what the winner gets. Your demands after winning the Ditzy Jenny number guessing game were… well, pathetic comes to mind."

Chuck remembered, they had made a side bet before the game. Like most of their bets, it was sexual in nature. It was a pretty good… um, bet, that Casey and Maryanne had done the same and that Casey was currently getting some version of the same speech. Chuck was so sure that he was going to win that maybe he laid the terms on a bit thick. In hindsight, maybe that wasn't such a good idea. His protest that the Ditzy Jenny thing was interrupted before he could collect died on his lips as he looked at his beautiful wife. She was plainly only partially kidding. She was in that zone. Her grin said volumes.

Sarah picked up her handcuffs from the table and dangled them suggestively. "You need to learn where the winner's limits are," she cooed as she advanced to where he was sitting. "Mainly that, within these four walls, there aren't any. It's my responsivity, as your loving wife, to educate you. The thing is, I believe in tough love. So consider the next two hours a learning experience. Your ass now belongs to me, along with your other body parts. I intend to make good use of all of them. You are going to make sure to show me a very, very good time serving me for the entire two hours. Getting me all fired up at halftime and leaving me to burn wasn't your brightest move. You're going to pay full price for that. I'll let you guess what service I want from you first."

Chuck really didn't have to guess. It was what she always wanted. So he just grinned. Before he knew what was happening, his blurry quick wife had his hands cuffed behind his back.

"I'm really looking forward to this," Sarah sighed. "A word to the wise. I'm sure that you already know this. You're a smart guy. Of course you're always very, very good at this. In fact, I'd say that it's one of your best skills. I'm sure you realize that it would be best if you were to use the next two hours to impress me with your very, very, very best effort. Enthusiasm is important… but so is precision." She picked up her cell phone and dangled it in front of him as her grin turned evil. "My expectations are sky high. If I'm disappointed, I tend to get a little cranky. Who knows what picture I might take… or who I might show it too?"

"I suspect that the next time you win one of these bets, you'll remember this educational experience, and things will be much different."

x-x-x-x-x

"I'm taking you for granted. I'm so sorry."

Devon just stood and watched her for a long moment. Frankly, he was tired and a little sore. It had been a long time since he had a workout like that. And both Sarah and Carina had gone out of their way all day to playfully level him any chance they got. A nap didn't sound half bad. "Why do you think that?" was all he could think to ask.

Ellie half expected him to deny it. She was grateful that he didn't. This was something that had to be dealt with. "Because it's true," she said sadly. "You've been my rock through all of this. I've grown to depend on it. So when I see the other girls playing arm candy, or bragging about their guys in bed, I'm happy that we're past that point in our life. But I didn't take into account how that would make you feel. So I'm officially sorry."

"Are we ever going to be completely over that phase in our lives?" Devon asked. "I hope not. I agree that we've traded the exciting newness of our physical relationship for comfortable. That's not a bad thing. But can't we keep some of the exciting things packed away… and break them out every once in a while?"

That got Ellie laughing. "You want eye candy?" she asked. "I'm afraid that you're getting cheated."

Devon did a double take. "No way," he insisted. "In the first place, I don't want eye candy. You're a brilliant doctor. I would never want to see you acting like some flirty gold digger. Besides, as eye candy goes, mine would be very competitive."

"So," Ellie sighed. "You think that I should have taken off my top today?"

"That's not for me to say," Devon replied. "Whatever you were comfortable with, I was comfortable with. All I'm saying is that you shouldn't feel like you don't measure up to the other girls. You measure up in every way."

Ellie probably had never needed to hear anything more in her whole life. "Thanks," she said. "This is exactly why I should never take you for granted. Maybe tonight, after dinner, we can go to the casino and have some fun. I won't worry about the money all night. I promise. When we get back, maybe we can break out some of that excitement you wanted."

Devon grinned at her. "That sounds great, babe," he said. "But could we actually take a nap first?"

"Sarah kicked my ass today."

x-x-x-x-x

Steven was never far from his computer. So the second he was back in the room, he jumped on his laptop.

Carina watched him intently reading with mixed emotions. He was the great Orion. She knew a little something about personal sacrifice. Sharing him with the world was part of the territory. But still…

"Thank you for spending the day with us," Carina sighed. "I know that it's not your thing."

Steven looked up from the screen. "I had a good time," he replied with a grin. "Notwithstanding getting knocked on my ass over and over by you and my rather violent daughter-in-law. So maybe it needs to become more my thing. Besides, I sense a 'but' coming. I'm just checking some messages. I won't be long."

Carina took full note of his teasing. "No but," she assured. "I'm not trying to lay any guilt on you. I'm honestly grateful for today. I get that wasn't easy for you. I knew that you were Orion before I even met you. Saving the world isn't a part time job. I always knew that I'd have to take a back seat sometimes to Orion things."

"No, you don't," Steven answered… probably a little more harshly than he intended. "Get that thought out of your head. You never have to take a back seat… to anything really, but especially not to Orion things. Let me ask you a serious question. Do you really want to get married? Tell me why? Is this because of Mary?"

Carina misinterpreted his tone. "I'm sorry that I dumped that on you in front of everybody," she sighed. "That wasn't fair. I guess I assumed that you wanted to get married. I should have talked to you first. I'll not deny that I'd enjoy making a serious statement to Mary."

Steven looked at the devastation on her face, stood up, and pulled her in close. "I'm not upset with you," he soothed. "You aren't the bad guy here. I appreciate you wanting to stand up for me to Mary. I really do. I don't want you to feel bad about it. The thing is, Mary really isn't the bad guy here either. What happened between us is far more my fault than hers. I'm long over that. And finding you has worked out pretty well for me. At this point, I'm happy that she's happy. You getting in her face would be awkward for me. So, since we're not going to Russia anyway, I'm asking you, as a favor to me… please let that go."

Carina pulled back a little to look at him. "We're not going to Russia?" she asked sadly. "You don't want to get married, do you? What about Devon and Ellie?"

"Devon and Ellie are still getting married," Steven replied. His face turned into a broad grin. "I'm just not sure where yet. You and me? I'll marry you if that's what you really want. I'm just saying that I don't want you to do it because you think it's what I want. I don't see being officially married making much of a difference. Chuck and Sarah aren't officially married. Does it matter to them? Being unofficial has become a family tradition. We're together… and unless you find a better deal and change your mind, we always will be."

"I hope that you're teasing," Carina said, now honestly offended. "I'm not looking for a better deal."

Steven started laughing. "Don't get your panties in a bunch," he said. "Well, if you were wearing panties anyway. You know that I was just teasing."

Carina wasn't exactly laughing. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry that I'm being so needy about this," she sighed. "I'm embarrassed. I promise that I'll tone it down. I've never been in love before. I'm just trying to figure this out. I want to give you everything you want."

"That's a good thing," Steven said, still laughing. "In that vein, speaking of teasing, I've been watching you pretty much naked all day. Watching you belt every man in sight playing football probably means that your ribs are feeling better. I'm really hoping that we didn't come up here to take a nap… if you know what I mean. Maybe it's even time that we took the training wheels off a little in our sex life. That would be okay, wouldn't it?"

That finally broke the tension and Carina joined his laughing. "Now, you're talking," she said. "I wasn't aware that we had training wheels. But consider them history. Here's something that I don't think you get. It would really help me feel comfortable with us if you'd stop being so generous and would allow me to occasionally do something just for you. I'd honestly feel even better if it was your idea. But now I'm curious. You still haven't told me why we're not going to Russia. I thought that was the plan. Don't we have to deal with Volkoff?"

"Mary took care of that," Steven answered. "It's a long story, but Volkoff is Volkoff mainly because he uploaded an early version of the Intersect. Mary always had the ability to extract it. We just needed to wait until Fulcrum was neutralized to give Ted Roark another enemy to deal with. We were going to Russia to assist Mary in case anything unexpected happened. She messaged me while we were on the beach. She doesn't need us. All is well. As far as your service, I do get that it would help you. I'm willing to help you think of something today… as long as we agree that it's out of love… and that it would also help me to sometimes be allowed to provide you with a similar service. That's what couples do."

"Exactly," Carina sighed in relief. "Thank you for understanding. Service isn't even the right word. Yes, it's out of love. And yes, I'm perfectly willing to give you your turn to serve. I'll even admit that never happens to me and I'm looking forward to it." She paused and took a long moment to process this latest bit of information. "So, if you were waiting to deal with Volkoff, that means…" she began cautiously.

Steven grinned as he led Carina to the bed. "Yup," he said. "The last Fulcrum agents are gone. Our war is over."

"We're going home."

x-x-x-x-x


	29. The Short Chapter

_I still don't own Chuck. I'm not sure who does at this point._

 _This chapter title has a dual meaning. It's time to wrap this up, but you'll also see that it has a meaning to Chuck and Sarah._

 **The Short Chapter**

x-x-x-x-x

Sarah was finally home. Spending a few weeks at a world famous Mediterranean resort that catered to the jet set could hardly be called a sacrifice. They spent their days on the beach and their nights partying. They even made the trip to Paris and Sarah kept her promise of a quickie at the top of the Eiffel Tower. And really, any place where Chuck was standing next to her, holding her hand… or holding her anything, when it came right down to it, was pretty much okay in Sarah's book. But she quickly discovered what most normal, non-spy people already knew… nothing beat sleeping in your own bed.

Home.

It was a word that a year ago would have been uncomfortable for her. She would have avoided using it. Now she found that she couldn't say it enough.

The past six months had been a whirlwind of activity. First, there had been Ellie's wedding to plan. Since they didn't elope to Russia, Devon's parents put their foot down and insisted on a huge, elaborate ceremony. They could no longer claim poverty, so money became no object. That was, quite frankly, hard for Ellie. After living her entire life counting pennies, being rich was something she would have to get used to. Devon's parents turned out to be a bit… well, controlling was probably the nicest word. Sarah had to bite her tongue several times. Letting people push her around wasn't her style. So to save any embarrassment for Ellie with her new mother-in-law, she tried to stay away from them as much as her 'maid of honor' title would allow. It didn't help that Devon's mom referred to her as 'the blonde.' For all of the tension, the long weekend actually turned out very nice.

Normally a maid of honor duty, Carina was recruited to plan the, what promised to be wild, bachelorette party. And for a while, Sarah feared that it might degrade from wild to out of control. After all, what Carina thought was mild fun, most normal people would find shocking. But she needn't have worried. Steven had really tamed her. Oh, there was the obligatory party bus trip to tour a selection of the many clubs in Southern California that featured male erotic dancers. There was enough tequila to float a cruise ship. But it was actually Ellie's friends from the hospital that put Carina to shame when it got time to get wild. They somehow avoided getting arrested, and then it was back to the relative safety of Sarah's packed basement for some nice catered food, a lot of dancing, and more rounds of tequila shots. Maryanne even flew in from North Carolina for the long weekend and wedding. It was a nice, silly time. At least the parts Sarah could remember.

She had made a deal with Chuck not to talk to each other about the respective parties. After all, it was a sure bet that Devon's party had included some imported naked women. This wasn't a topless beach. The nudity wasn't casual. In fact, the whole point of having strippers perform for you was to ogle them. She wanted to make sure that he knew that, for this night anyway, he was allowed to have a wild time… up to their 'looky, no touchy' line, and she'd try hard to do the same without any jealousy.

Since Maryanne mysteriously disappeared from Sarah's basement for a couple of hours, it was another sure bet that her perfect chest had been part of the imported entertainment. She mumbled something about losing a bet with Casey. And after the football fiasco, Casey would surely extract a high level of payment. Since being married, Sarah knew a thing or two about losing that kind of bet. The thing is, there wasn't any sand in Casey's basement to give it up on in front of everybody. Knowing how wild Maryanne got when she was around the Bartowski family, Casey's pool table was probably the next best thing.

Sarah wasn't sure if Devon's doctor friends were as wild as Ellie's. But she was sure that his brothers more than made up for it. Maybe Maryanne would learn a lesson about being so eager to… um, entertain at a bachelor party. Sarah was dying to sneak over and take a peak. After all, it was right next door. Ogling naked women he had never met and would never see again was one thing. Maryanne was a little different. She had never made any bones about the fact that she had a huge crush on one Agent Charles Carmichael, and that she'd love the chance to get him in bed. In fact, she felt like she owed it to him. But in the end, Sarah resisted. Maryanne had fully earned her spot as a close, trusted family friend… and this was Chuck. Spending any time worrying about him being tempted to cheat bordered on insulting. At least he had seen her naked before.

This would be the first time either of them would be in that type of wild environment without the other since they had gotten married. And honestly, Sarah had to fight a few pangs. But when it came down to it, she trusted him… just like he trusted her. It sure didn't hurt when, the next afternoon, Chuck broke the spirit of their deal. He told her that the naked women only served to remind him of how lucky he was, how much he missed being with her, and that he had spent most of the party awkwardly sitting there counting the minutes for it to be over. It was today's example of the sweetest guy in the world knowing exactly what she needed to hear and delivering it on cue.

The end of the war meant that they could finally relax a little. Ted Roark still hated them. And he was still a very rich, powerful man. But with his private army gone, he really wasn't the threat he once was. With his hopes of world domination gone, he'd have to settle for being one of the richest men in the world. When push came to shove, that wasn't half bad. And Steven's promised technology was making that happen. It worked out well for both men. Steven got to play with his beloved magic. Roark got to make billions of dollars and become the acknowledged leader of the tech world. So to say that they came to accept each other wasn't close to being true. But they did tacitly agree to pretend the other didn't exist as much as possible.

Mary was able to come to her daughter's wedding, and even brought the new and improved Alexei Volkoff. Of course, they had to be very secretive. Bryce was dead, but his new partner and team were still on the case. There were also still the two Intersects that had been created at the same time as Bryce roaming around someplace. Alexei and Mary had already spent a fair amount of their fortune repairing some of the evil he had caused over the years. Even so, the CIA still would have loved to get their hands on him. Suppling nuclear weapons to rogue banana republics was something they would have a hard time forgiving. So Orion had to pull some of his magic to get him out of Russia and back again undetected.

It turned out that, without the Intersect, he was a mild mannered, friendly, and very charming guy. Sarah was surprised. For someone who had been at the top of her CIA 'hate' list for ten years, she found that she even liked him. They were already talking about making that trip to Russia to see them someday.

Carina had that constant gleam in her eyes that always spelled trouble for someone. Oh, she had made Steven a promise, so she behaved in front of Mary, well mostly. She did take obvious care to cling to Steven provocatively, wear as little as possible whenever Mary was around and rub in the fact that she was… well, rubbing. But there wasn't anything wrong with that. If Mary realized what she was doing, and how could she not, she never said anything.

Frankly Mary's main concern was Sarah. She was still protective of her baby boy, and knew what it was like to be a CIA agent. Being in love wasn't part of that job description. Sarah had never backed down from anyone, and wasn't about to start now, especially when it came to her feelings for Chuck. So their first meeting was, understandably, a little tense. Finally, Steven had to talk to Mary. Whatever the tensions of the weekend, her new father-in-law going to bat for her more than made up for it.

Sarah had never been to this fancy of a wedding before, much less been the maid of honor. She never liked to be the center of attention. There was the tension of Devon's parents, along with meeting her mother-in-law for the first time. Not to mention the fact that she would be walking the aisle arm in arm with the best man, Devon's brother, who was obviously one of those guys who thought that being good looking was a license to have any woman he chose. He most definitely took full advantage of being a temporary couple and made absolutely no effort to conceal his trying to brush up against her or look down her dress at every possible opportunity. And the posing for all of the pictures that Devon's mom insisted on gave him his fair share of opportunities. Normally, she would have swatted that kind of man away like an annoying fly without a second thought. But this was Devon's brother, so to keep family unity she held her tongue.

Knowing that there was a bridal dance coming at the reception, combined with his borderline crude innuendo, and that even Chuck had seen about enough from him and was visibly growing more and more annoyed, the rehearsal was fairly tense. At the actual wedding, it was hard to tell who was more nervous walking down that aisle, Ellie or her. Fortunately for the best man's wellbeing during the bridal dance, the bridesmaid's dresses they had picked out protected her ass under multiple layers of lace.

Of course, Chuck's gratitude at the dress's protective design ended later when her rather tipsy husband tried to drag her into one of the back rooms for a quickie. Sarah could only giggle helplessly as he struggled to find an opening, only to finally give up. Naturally, promising Sarah sex, even a quickie, and not paying off wasn't going to fly… ever… even if he was tipsy… even at Ellie's reception. So she took charge and it ended being a little more than a quickie. It was a little embarrassing for him when the photographer needed some additional pictures, Casey came looking for them, and walked in on them in mid… um… stream. But that was life in the fast lane.

After the wedding, it became time to discuss the living arraignments. Their simple house in the Pasadena suburbs was upscale, but it really wasn't a place for billionaires. The thing was, Sarah already had her heart set on growing old and raising their family there. So Chuck, like always, came to the rescue. He had already used some of their ridiculous wealth to buy the two houses on both sides, including the five that bordered in back. So they now owned an entire block.

That gave Casey a place to move out of their basement, which was one of Chuck's priorities. It also gave Steven and Carina a place of their own. After they got back from their honeymoon in Hawaii, Ellie and Devon moved out of their small apartment and took one of the houses in the back. They kept two houses open for guests. The four corners were converted into a full time security center with plenty of room to house the housekeeping staff.

If you drove around their block, it looked like a normal suburban neighborhood. It really wasn't. It was a complex that was protected 24 x 7 by the finest security that Casey could develop, including laser motion detectors, thermal imaging, and always a minimum of ten guards armed to the teeth. In the common area, Chuck had a huge heated pool, twin tennis courts, and hot tub put in.

The common clubhouse was only a few dozen steps from any of the houses and held the fitness center that Sarah designed, or as Chuck named it, Sarah's den of torture. It also assumed the role as the default place for family parties, replacing Chuck and Sarah's basement. It was completely hidden from the public, which was good, because any hot tub where Carina had access, was de facto designated as clothing optional. That wasn't going to fly in conservative Pasadena.

Ellie quickly decided that she loved the ginormous hot tub that was almost as big as a small pool. It could hold everyone comfortably and then some. So there was plenty of room to invite their wild doctor friends and the guest houses got a lot of use. Ellie even got with the clothing optional program sometimes after a few shots of tequila… and when dad wasn't around. It wasn't unheard of for a family member to head over to the hot tub for some quiet relaxation, only to interrupt Devon and Ellie naked and getting very friendly. Apparently hot bubbles were a huge Ellie turn on.

It was a truly magical time for their sex life, which had always been robust. Now that the war was over, their two year deal quickly elevated it to a brand new level. Chuck, God love him, had really stepped up to take control, and even push her… in wonderful ways. Once Casey moved out, there was no reason for Sarah not to respect Chuck's clothing free area… which was basically the entire house. One of the things that Sarah loved about Chuck was that he could always make her laugh. So he kept her in stitches describing the new house rules.

Chuck immediately decreed that being in Europe for three weeks meant that they would have to start over in their quest to christen every room in the house. Some of his definitions of 'room' pushed credulity, like every pocket in the pool table, every cushion of the sofas and love seats, every leaf in the dining room table, or every walk in closet, being a separate room for christening purposes. So for that first month, they were pretty busy. He developed a complex set of rules governing, well, everything when it came right down to it, but especially the christenings. In true nerd fashion, he used a program on his phone to invent a 'random' system to determine the specific 'act' to be used for each christening.

If one particular act came up much more often than any random drawing would deem mathematically possible, Sarah laughed and chalked it up to his revenge at losing that football bet. The boy was obviously a quick study. Although she loved when he asked for that probably more than he did, she teasingly filed an official protest, which was well within her rights under the rules that Chuck had decreed.

The protest really didn't work out too well for her. It turned out that Chuck had also decreed himself as judge. Not only did she lose her protest and receive a rather long scolding about embracing the joy of service, the judge pointed out that there was a fairly steep protest filing fee hidden in the rules' fine print that was now immediately due. Since Chuck had already decreed that sex was the official currency of this realm, before she knew it, she was laughing and providing… um, an extra-long version of the exact service she had protested… as payment. His warning about doing an extra good job or who knew what might happen to the pictures he was taking on his phone of her in action was probably just as empty as hers had been… just another bit of revenge.

As soon as she could speak after finishing paying the original filing fee, she immediately appealed. Again, it was well within her rights. The filing fee for the 2nd appeal was even wilder. The judge was of the opinion that she was mocking the court and ruled her in contempt. She needed to be taught a lesson about authority. So her next payment service took some time. It was pretty wild… definitely as far to the edge as Chuck had ever demanded from her.

As she sat there on that sofa across from him, giggling while she performed for his amusement… and his phone camera, Sarah thought about her options… mostly to see if he would actually push her even farther. Unfortunately, the huge favor she was doing for herself while he watched, making sure that she was doing it correctly, rather predictably changed silly giggling into white hot arousal. She was well beyond the capacity for the calm, rational thought that would be required to finalize any legal strategy. The rest of that afternoon was a wonderful blur. Of course, Chuck pretending to demand wild bedroom things from Sarah was her very favorite thing. It didn't take her long to figure out that's exactly why he was doing it. It was so hot for both of them that Chuck gave her performance an official title. In Latin, it was now forever known as 'Do tibi gratiam.'

After taking an hour or so to recover from her devastating legal defeat, Sarah started teasingly calling him Caesar… Caesar Charles the First. As it turned out, Chuck actually liked the idea of being an emperor even more than being a judge. Charles the First's next decree was bolder. Sarah was nominated to Caesar's cabinet as the realm's Entertainer in Chief. The confirmation hearing got a little silly as the one member panel asked some detailed questions about her entertainment experiences during her time as a CIA agent. She was finally able to provide enough physical reenactment evidence to satisfy the panel, she was quickly confirmed by unanimous vote of the one member voting body, and sworn in.

The formal swearing in ceremony was perhaps the most aroused Sarah had ever been in her entire life. Certainly such an important position came with certain responsibilities. There would be a nightly private lingerie, lap dance, and erotic story show. All Sarah could do was giggle helplessly as he explained that in Latin it was called 'luxuriâ de nocturnis horis', or in English 'nightly hours of decadence.' Naturally, a regularly required component of luxuriâ de nocturnis horis was some variant of the Do tibi gratiam that they both loved so much.

It went without saying that anything that got Chuck's eyes to sparkle like that became Sarah's very favorite part of the day. Chuck 'demanding' a performance from her, even if he was teasing, never failed to get her knees weak. As official Entertainer in Chief, it became her quest to make the next night's performance better and more erotic than ever. She often found herself planning that next performance in the middle of the afternoon.

Sarah had to get special dispensation to sometimes trade the lingerie in for a schoolgirl uniform to strip out of with a sexy pout. It was a tough sell. The fee to even get a hearing took over… well, it was a most interesting afternoon. She was able to use her authority as Entertainer in Chief to have the stripper pole installed in their bedroom all on her own. The good news was that she had hundreds of erotic stories to whisper in his ear and reenact during the lap dances. All she had to do was recall her C.A.T. days, tell him something that actually did happen in first person, and substitute her name instead of Carina or Zondra. Often, an unfortunate negligee didn't survive the process. But she had a closet full of them. After all, they were rich. Shopping for replacements was practically the only time she could get Carina to leave the complex. Apparently Carina was going through some negligees of her own.

And naturally, Caesar Charles the First was a benevolent dictator. He made very sure that his loyal subject was well taken care of, in some amazing way, each night. Thankfully, Casey had moved out so there was no longer the need for Sarah to bite her lip while in the throes to keep from screaming out and embarrassing anyone. Of course, she always was required to pay the new 'screaming tax' that the Emperor had imposed. But that was just part of the nightly fun.

And they still had their two year game of showing each other off going strong. They got dressed up, or in Sarah's case, dressed down, and went to a different club dancing about twice a week. Sarah was never going to complain about going dancing. Sometimes Devon and Ellie went with them. Surprisingly sometimes even Casey went. He was actually doing great scoring with Chuck's rejections on the rebound. But mostly it was just the two of them.

Sarah always knew that her new wedding ring wouldn't make much difference to the men who frequented those pick up places… and it didn't. But it didn't keep her from trying. Her so blatantly shoving it in their faces became a running joke between them. It also took away any guilt from so brutally shutting them down. That part was fun. There were a couple of fights from guys whose egos couldn't take such a harsh rejection. That was to be expected. Of course, any moron, with more testosterone than brains, picking a fight with Chuck was about to have a very bad experience.

He was so great at just walking away. Sarah even told him a couple of times that it was okay to teach some particularly obnoxious jerk a lesson. Once he had permission, the fight was invariably short. Sarah never wanted to feel like a damsel in distress, but she also stopped pretending that Chuck defending her honor wasn't a massive turn on. So on those rare fight nights, luxuriâ de nocturnis horis invariably became extra luxuriâ and the screaming tax entered the surcharge area of the scale Chuck had devised.

Sarah was even able to take her new husband and introduce him to her mom and dad… separately. They really, really didn't get along. Neither had heard of her 'death' anyway. They had to be very carefully covert in both cases. Sarah's mom still had a secret that the CIA would be all over and her dad would have been arrested on the spot. Getting to know something real about her past was a special treat for Chuck. Sarah was certainly right that her mom would love her new son-in-law. She hugged him so tightly that he joked about having a stiff neck for days. Sarah's 'sister' was a little afraid of them at first. She was only three. But she quickly warmed up, especially to Chuck. He was already making plans to take them all to Disney World.

Chuck and Sarah weren't the only ones whose sex life had kicked into a new gear. As for the rest of the family, Carina didn't talk much about hers. That was surprising. She always wanted to brag about her expertise between the sheets. But that was mostly because she wasn't around much. Steven and Carina became homebodies, at least for the first couple months or so.

They all met for dinner in the clubhouse dining room most nights. A private gourmet chef came with being rich. Sometimes Carina would show up at the clubhouse in the afternoon to work out while Steven was working on some magic technology to make untold millions for RI, whose stock was going through the roof. Sometimes she talked him into spending some time in the hot tub. Every once in a while, she was even able to get him to stay after dinner and join the family for an impromptu dancing and tequila party. But mostly they stayed in, getting to know each other. The look on her face was clearly lovesick, bordering on pathetic. Sarah would have loved to tease her… except that she had the same look on her face.

Casey was the surprise. He adjusted to civilian life better than anyone could believe. It wasn't at all unusual to think that Ellie and Devon were fooling around in the hot tub, only to find that it was Casey, and some woman. It was hardly ever the same woman. It turned out that the women were pursuing him. Maybe it was a gold digger thing. Maybe Maryanne taught him something. Maybe Maryanne had bragged him up to Ellie's doctor friends. Sarah found that she really didn't want to know. Whatever it was, Casey was only alone when he wanted to be.

x-x-x-x-x

They had just finished playing tennis. Well, it wasn't really playing… not yet anyway. They were still honing their skills. Chuck discovered that mixed doubles tennis was the Pasadena social scene sport of choice. So he, knowing Sarah's competitive nature, hired a pro to teach them the ropes with the idea of mopping up the floor with their new neighbors.

It almost went without saying that the instructor immediately developed a major crush on his new beautiful and very athletic blonde student. It really didn't go anywhere. He wasn't stupid, just more open about using his hands to show Sarah the positions her body should be in, especially her hips.

Sarah was hypersensitive to the thought of making Chuck jealous and she came close to saying something a couple of times. But why start something? He wasn't the first, and probably wouldn't be the last, man to find an excuse to touch her ass. Besides, sometimes the 'coaching' actually helped. Chuck was always standing right there, and he thought it more funny than anything. He even retroactively granted her request for a special exemption from his no panty decree. After all, the tennis outfit he picked out for her didn't hide much anyway… and the lack of panties would represent a visual her new admirer probably didn't need. Naturally, the filing fee for the exemption was paid in the shower immediately after their first lesson.

It had been about six weeks, and they were both getting very good. Sarah signed then up for a tournament the following month that they were looking forward too.

Sarah was currently sitting on Chuck's lap with her head on his shoulder. Even though they were both naked, this wasn't sexual, not really. Even Sarah was starting to realize that you couldn't have sex twenty-four hours a day, every day. Lately, they had pretty much reserved actual sex for nighttime. They had just gotten out of the shower, winding down a bit after today's intense workout. Even the shower wasn't sexual. The Emperor calmly explained that they were in a drought and even billionaires shouldn't waste water. Having someone to playfully wash your back… and sometimes your front, made some sense. This was more loving… resting comfortably with each other. They were at such a good place.

Sarah's hand brushed his chest, and finally found the scar where Casey's shot had entered all those months ago. It was today's reminder of how close she had come to losing him. Sitting at his funeral was, by far, the saddest moment of her life. But she was given the great gift of a second chance. She could still remember every detail of lying in that hospital bed saying their unofficial vows to each other like it had happened ten minutes ago. Her life forever changed that day when she decided she wasn't going to blow it. That was still just as true. "If I ask you a question," she asked. "Will you give me an honest answer?" Part of that was obviously rhetorical, because she didn't wait for his response. "Am I out of control?" she asked. "I'm sorry about that. It's just that my life is perfect."

Chuck smiled. "Hold that thought," he said. "Can we talk?"

Sarah pulled back a little to look at him. She wasn't expecting such an odd question. "What's wrong?" she asked. "So you do think that I'm out of control? You can tell me."

"Nothing's wrong," Chuck insisted. "It's nothing like that. At least, I don't think so. Maybe you will. I just wanted to thank you."

Sarah smiled. "You're welcome," she teased. "So exactly what are you thanking me for?"

Chuck made a broad waive with his hand. "For all of this," he sighed. "A year ago I was a loser working in a Buy More. Now I'm a billionaire married to the most beautiful woman in the world who makes it her life's work to keep me content, in bed and out. And that's all because of you. I love you."

Sarah quickly got emotional. "Please, don't thank me," she insisted. "That makes me feel horrible. For one thing, I think we've had the discussion about calling yourself a loser more times than I can count. I was the loser. I slept-walked through life. I didn't laugh. I didn't love. I didn't live. You rescued me. You loved me, for me, even when you knew that you weren't going to get anything out of it. No matter how many times I pushed you away, you never gave up. You gave me a home, made me part of a family. I spend my days laughing and my nights on fire. The truth is, I could never do enough for you. I especially don't tell you how much I love you nearly enough. That's something I have to get better at. We've gotten very good at the sex thing. If I could think of anything else that would make you happy, in bed or out, I'd do it without thinking. My life is perfect. And you can deny this all you want. But that's because of you."

Chuck paused for a long moment. "There is one thing you could do," he finally said. "I'd like to start working on our family. Sarah, our war is over. Our lives are perfect. There's only one thing missing. I know we have a deal. And I'm not going back on anything. I'll keep up my end. If you want to wait for the entire two years… that was our deal."

"The two years was your idea," Sarah pointed out. "I was against it. I want this more than you do. So… are you sure? Once I'm pregnant, there's no changing your mind again."

"I'm very sure," Chuck assured her. "It was a nice chapter in our life, short but nice. But it's time, don't you think?"

"You know that I do," Sarah said. "I can't wait to see you as a dad."

Chuck smiled. "Let's start trying right away," he said. Then he paused for a long moment. "We can still have hot sex, can't we? I don't want to turn into Ellie and Devon just yet. I would really miss the luxuriâ de nocturnis horis."

"Why, Caesar," Sarah said with a grin. "Surely, luxuriâ de nocturnis horis isn't going anywhere anytime soon, is it? Besides, I think that Ellie and Devon may have caught their second wind. This is actually perfect. Not only are we already naked, but hot sex that leads to a family? Two birds, one stone? What could possibly be better? What is your first decree? Should I get things started with some Do tibi gratiam?"

That got them both laughing. She had just called him Caesar. He pretty much automatically playfully assumed the role. She never objected and rarely asked for anything. She just smiled gratefully and immediately and enthusiastically performed whatever task he assigned, no matter how ridiculous or vivid, and trusted him to find a way to take care of her. After it was over, she never failed to look him directly in the eyes, make a huge point of thanking him for the wild time, and find some way to hint that he could go even farther next time.

The illusion was that he was firmly in charge. But make no mistake. She was in complete charge of their sex life. She always had been… and they both knew it. When his wife put on that molten sex goddess look, she could get him to do anything she wanted without saying a single word. And the funny thing was, she could make it his idea. Sexy didn't come close to describing her. She was hard as nails, yet soft as an angel. She could act ditzy when she wanted, yet she was brilliant. She could act submissive when she wanted, yet she was a natural leader… the most dominant person he knew. She could make herself look like an average pretty suburban housewife when she wanted, yet she could speak a thousand languages, throw a knife into a fly's ass from across the room, kick anybody's ass that objected, and keep the smile on her face while she was doing it.

It was now obvious. He had just lit her, very short, fuse. Even if Chuck wanted to object, that time was past. They were about to have a long session of wild sex… in the middle of the afternoon. Maybe he would be able to pick some of the foreplay activities… but she was firmly in charge. Offering Do tibi gratiam was her, not so subtle, suggestion that it was something she was in the mood for him to demand. Why fight it? So he pulled her in close. "I wasn't really talking about starting this very instant," he teased. "But you do have something of a point. Maybe you should go get prepared first. I think I'd like to see your bedlah slowly hit the floor as my belly dancer gets me in the proper mood."

Sarah was already half way to the bedroom. It was no secret that belly dancing as a sexy blonde genie suppling three wishes had replaced the schoolgirl striptease act as their new hot thing. It never failed to get them both on fire. "Yes, Caesar," she called over her shoulder. "Your wish is my command."

It wasn't thirty seconds before his one girl harem was back, in full bedlah uniform, grinning as she softly swayed her hips in rhythm to the music coming from her phone.

"Slowly," Chuck advised as he watched her wiggle erotically out of her top until it became irrelevant… and then slid to the floor. "We have lots of time. I find that I have lots of wants this afternoon. My first wish is for ten more wishes."

Sarah had to struggle to keep from laughing. Here she was on fire… and he could still make her laugh. "Yes, Master," she teased. "You now have twelve wishes left." And the plain truth was he didn't have twelve wishes left… he had a lifetime of them. Chuck asking for something from her and not instantly getting it wasn't remotely possible.

Chuck could only laugh. As she stepped out of the bedlah bottom, she was as naked as she had been just five minutes ago. But it was night and day. Standing before him, trembling with desire as she waited for his next instruction, was the sexiest woman in the world. Why do anything other than enjoy it? "Once you've set the mood, my second wish is for some Do tibi gratiam," he teased. "We'll see how it goes from there. And to answer your original question."

"Yes. You're totally out of control."

The End

x-x-x-x-x

 _A/N: I don't think that it's any secret that I was reluctant to end this story. The war has been over for some time. But Chuck and Sarah were in such a good place that I didn't want it to end._

 _So here we are. I've already written this retirement speech far too many times. But let's face some facts. The show has now been off the air longer than it was on. Netflix was a pleasant surprise. It brought in some new fans. But now that it's no longer available there, interest has dramatically dropped off. My daily hits currently are about a fourth of what they were a year ago. I'm not complaining. Frankly I'm surprised that it took this long. I thought that things would quickly fade right after the show ended. It's only natural, right? Especially given the polarizing nature of the finale. It's possible that a reunion or movie could still happen and revive interest, but every passing day probably makes that less and less likely._

 _I'm not trying to be a downer. If you're reading these words, you're obviously still interested. I'm still every bit as in love with the Chuck and Sarah love story as I ever was. If I got an idea for a story that was burning a hole in my brain, like this one from Charahkids did, I might write it. But I just don't see enough interest to justify the amount of work it takes. That's as it should be. For me, writing has given me the closure that the show denied me. So I'm now content that Chuck and Sarah are someplace together now, happy, and probably working on baby #3._

 _My thoughts on the show have evolved over the years. On the one hand, you have to give Chris Fedak his due. He gave us Chuck Bartowski and Sarah Walker. He also gave us some genuine 'fist pump' moments that you just don't see on television. I'll be the first to admit that I have no idea what it takes to produce an hour long network TV show for five years. He did that. He deserves credit._

 _On the other, I don't think it's at all unfair to point out that the show's writing was often sloppy, that they looked to be making it up as they went along, sometimes it seemed the writer of an episode had never seen the show before, their worship at the WT/WT altar often made the main characters unlikeable, I could care less if the Buy More and everyone in it was swallowed by a black hole, and there were plot holes that could swallow Texas._

 _There are so many amazing storylines that they never pursued. I'd love to know the backstory behind Chuck's parents… or Sarah's family… or the parallels with Orion/Frost and Chuck/Sarah… or who Vivian Volkoff's mother is… or what Bryce and Orion's relationship really was and how did it happen… or how some mild mannered British man became a Russian billionaire oligarch… or what happened to Jill… or what was in the Dark Intersect that Chuck downloaded… or what happened to Manoosh's intersect glasses… or, so many more. Instead, we got Daniel Shaw, the red test, and dreaded trapezoid. Sigh. I firmly believe that, with a better effort, the show could still be on the air._

 _To me, it's unforgivable that they would take the central theme, the Charah love story, and leave us not definitively knowing that they were together and happy. I still think that was intentional and a bit vindictive, a final shot at the shippers who made his life so miserable over the years. So if a movie was going to be one more round of that WT/WT, I say no thanks. I have my closure, even if I had to write it myself._

 _I sometimes have to pinch myself when I realize the tremendous support I've gotten over the years. This has always been just a hobby for me. I never imagined that people would become so invested in it. I get it. Even though Chuck and Sarah are fictional, in a very real way they became our friends. We don't like seeing bad things happen to them. Unfortunately, an interesting story requires some tense situations. To me, the more impossible the situation our heroes found themselves in, the more fulfilling the eventual triumph. But I always promised the happy ending. So when we were in those impossible moments, you always knew up front that it would work out somehow. I always kept that promise. If you've ever sent me a review, or a PM, or talked to me on any number of forums, or just read in anonymity, I thank you._

 _Much like the British Empire at its height, the sun never sets on the people from around the world that I can call friends because of Chuck. I've worked with some amazing talents. BrickRoad just published her first novel. Vicki isn't going to be far behind. And as always, a big thanks to Michaelfmx for his beta services over the years. I really appreciate it._

 _So, if this is the end, it's with no regrets. I'll miss it. I'll miss you. But we've had a great run playing in this Chuck and Sarah sandbox for the past… oh, my goodness, over ten years._

 _It's time to move on._

x-x-x-x-x


End file.
